Music of the Night
by Nocte Ambulavero
Summary: Rain is Dark-Hunter who hates any and everything until he meets the person destined him by the Fates. Shiri is a blind Seer-she can find daimons with her mind. But when she falls ill, Rain finds he will do anything to save her. DH and characters not mine.
1. Eternity Alone

"**I hate you."**

**Rainier Sainte-Claire sent the death-glare across one of the back tables of Sanctuary, obsidian eyes hard and flat. His rakishly handsome face was settled into his normal expression—I'm Pissed and If You Want to Live, Stay the Hell Away. When he lifted his beer for a sip, he bared his fangs.**

"**Mine are bigger."**

**Acheron grinned, showing off a set of pearly whites that would've made Dracula envious.**

"**I still hate you."**

"**You hate everyone."**

"**So you dragged me here why?"**

**Rainier curled his lip as he looked around the biker bar. **

"**If you hadn't noticed, I don't like crowds."**

"**You don't like anything."**

**Acheron looked mildly amused, lips half smirking. With his metallic blue hair, take-no-prisoners clothing and take-no-shit expression, he was imposing enough to make almost everyone in the room wary. Almost. Rainier couldn't give less about him. Or anything for that matter. He just wanted to get the hell out of there so he could go home and get back to brooding while he sharpened his weapons. **

"**I'm giving you to ten, Acheron, before I decide to add killing my boss to my to-do list."**

**Acheron shook his head like a disappointed parent.**

"**I'll keep pretending you mean that."**

**Rainier growled.**

"**Acheron-"**

"**I need a favor."**

**Rainier sat back, looking wary.**

"**What?"**

"**Actually it's not so much a favor as an order-"**

**The growl became more pronounced.**

"**Artemis's orders. Not mine Rain."**

"**That's comforting. Last time I saw her, she tried to take off my head with a god-bolt."**

"**You told her she was a PSMing unmentionable who needed to stop Crayola-ing her hair with something that resembled puked-up ketchup."**

"**Your point?"**

"**The point is you might want to try not hating the world one day Rain."**

"**Been there. Done that."**

**Acheron sighed.**

"**Either way, it's not like you have much of a choice. Neither of us does."**

"**What does the hag want?"**

**Acheron gestured around.**

"**New Orleans."**

"**She wants a freaking city? Well you can tell her to get it herself and get a facial while she's at it. She's getting ugly. Or maybe she was like that before."**

**Acheron bit back a laugh.**

"**No Rain. She doesn't want the city. She wants you to guard it."**

**Rainier paused for a second before setting down his beer with slightly more force that normal. Meaning he only put a small dent in the table. Barely even noticeable unless you were paying attention to it. Which he wasn't.**

"**She wants me to stay here? Est-elle bête?"**

**He'd been posted in Atlanta for the last hundred years of so, and he had no intention of leaving. **

"**I'm not stupid enough to agree with you, though notice I'm not disagreeing either. And she's not joking. Since Kyrian, Talon, and Valerius are off the job, we need a Dark-Hunter here. At least temporarily."**

"**Well then call Zarek. Or Wulf. Or someone who's not me."**

"**Wulf's currently in the middle of apollite heaven with Cassandra, and Zarek is on Olympus doing gods knows what with Astrid."**

"**Idiots."**

**Rainer sneered.**

"**Love makes you weak. Vulnerable."**

"**It's made them stronger than you can imagine."**

**Rainier didn't really care to explain how stupid that sounded. He'd loved once. Held people near and dear to his heart. And look where it'd gotten him—soulless both figuratively and literally. He wasn't stupid enough to do it again. **

"**Sacre bleu Acheron. I'd think you of all people would understand that love is for those too weak for reality," was all he said.**

"**Perhaps," Acheron agreed. "I've never seemed to be able to figure it out either."**

"**Good. Then you won't have a problem telling Zarek to float his ass back down to the real world and take over here."**

**Acheron frowned as he removed his sunglasses and exposed his swirling silver eyes.**

"**I still mean what I said Rain. Artemis ordered it and for once, I agree with her."**

**Rainier hissed.**

"**What?"**

"**It isn't a choice Rain. Your new post is here."**

"**The hell it is."**

"**It's not that bad. I actually like this city quite a bit."**

"**Acheron-"**

"**Not debatable. You, Rainier Sainte-Claire, are now the sole Dark-Hunter guarding this city. And you better be damn sure it's guarded or it's both our asses on the line.**

* * *

><p>"<strong>Kyrian, Julian—Rainier. Rainier-"<strong>

"**Yeah, I know who they are."**

**Rainier eyed the two blonde men in front of him with mild distaste. The taller of the two, who had piercing green eyes and an arrogant expression that Rain could relate to, stared challengingly back at him. The second, whose eyes shone bluer than the Aegean, smiled in a way that managed to be friendly and wary at the same time. Acheron on the other hand, watched the exchange with clinical interest. **

"**One big happy family," he observed.**

"**I'd rather have the psycho back," Nick grumbled from the corner.**

**Rain flipped him the bird.**

"**Hey, cool it Nick," Kyrian said amiably. "Rainer's going to be here for a while, so let's all try to get along, okay?"**

"**Look who's talking," Nick smirked back. **

**Kyrian shrugged.**

"**We can take it from here Acheron," he said. "We'll show him the city. Give him the lay of things. One of us can probably patrol with him for a few nights before he gets the hang of things."**

"**What are you going to do? Hold my hand when I cross the street and kiss my booboos better when I fall and scrape a knee?" Rainier sneered in a biting voice. "I work alone Greek."**

"**Maybe we should get the psycho back," Kyrian agreed with Nick.**

"**Ignore them."**

**Julian stepped forward.**

"**We'll leave now. Just call if you need anything, okay?"**

**He took out a card from his pocket and set it on the coffee table.**

"**One of us is always around, but if there's an emergency, call Nick."**

"'**If there's an emergency, call Nick'," Nick mocked in a high falsetto. **

"**He's one of the only Dark-Hunters in the city Nick," Kyrian reminded him. **

"'**He's one of the only Dark-Hunters in the city Nick'. Yeah, yeah. I'll cover Psycho II. Want me to fetch your dry cleaning while I'm at it?"**

"**Actually I-"**

**Nick elbowed him in the ribs on his way out of the room, making Kyrian laugh. **

"**If you kids are done playing," Rain frowned. "Get out of my apartment."**

"**Converting the space above your garage, which used to be a warehouse mind you, into a room and putting a bed in it doesn't constitute as an apartment," Julian said, looking concerned. **

"**Before you go all buddy-buddy on me, I'm fine. I might even go so far as to say that I appreciate the concern. Maybe. Probably not."**

"**Are you sure? You could always come stay with Grace and me."**

**Rainier bit back a gag.**

"**No thanks. I don't need to puke up my guts every time I see you two make goo-goo eyes at each other."**

**What he really needed was for them to get the heck out. It was almost dawn and he was itching to go be alone. He'd already met the two Greeks a while back, and the niceties were starting to wear on his already strained patience. But Julian seemed to know when to bow out gracefully, and he placed a hand on Kyrian's shoulder.**

"**Come on, we should go. Amanda and Grace are expecting us back soon."**

**Kyrian nodded.**

"**We'll be here if you need anything," he said to Rainier.**

**They left after quick goodbyes to Acheron.**

"**They're annoying."**

**It was the first thing Rainier said when the door shut behind the two of them. He flopped onto his black leather couch and glared rebelliously up at the ceiling.**

"**Remind me why I'm here again?"**

"**Because you have no choice."**

"**Lovely."**

"**I'm serious Rain. Don't screw this one up. New Orleans is a daimon hotspot and I don't want anyone getting hurt."**

"**Yeah, yeah. I go it. Protect the humans. Don't let them know I exist Don't piss off anyone who does know I exist. Etcetera, etcetera. Now can you please leave, so I can get back to feeling sorry for myself?"**

**Acheron flashed out of the room.**

**Rain sighed in relief when he realized he was finally alone. But just to be sure, he sent his mind probing through the house just to make sure nothing living was still in it, and apart from the spider in the garage, there wasn't. **

**Rolling to his feet, he stalked over to the huge floor to ceiling black oak cabinets that held his weapons. Opening one of them, he pulled out his modified long swords. They had blades three feet in length, but they were thin and light, easy to control. Their handles were custom fitted to his hands. **

**He twirled them a few times to get the feel of them before he kicked the door to the cabinets shut. He shed his leather trench coat and black t-shirt, grabbed a water bottle from his fridge, and walked into the training room that took up most of his flat. The mirrored walls reflected back cold concrete ceiling and floor. They reflected emptiness.**

**Just the way he liked his life.**


	2. Dream Lover

"It's beautiful Sunshine."

Shiri Callista smiled softly at her friend as she ran her fingers over the pot that sat in front of her. The glaze was glass-smooth underneath her sensitive fingertips, and she could tell the gently sloping lines had been molded meticulously and carefully.

"What color is it?" she asked.

"I started with a dark green base coat and painted silver and gold over it. It's a Celtic design."

"Of course it is. I supposed that has nothing to do with Talon?"

"She's madly in love with me. Borders on obsession," Talon said from the couch.

Shiri laughed softly.

"You should joke more often Tally. You're much too serious all the time."

She couldn't see him, but she knew he'd probably thrown her the impish grin that always seemed to appease her despite the fact that she couldn't see it, or anything else. Born blind, she'd learned to see with her fingers.

"Grace is going to love it Sunny," she smiled.

"Do you think so?"

"Of course. Your artwork is always perfect."

Shiri slid off her stool and handed the pot back to Sunshine.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Ten to six," Talon answered. "Do you need one of us to drive you home?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

"Of course not!"

Sunshine sounded offended, then promptly turned to Talon.

"Can you sweetheart? I have to get ready."

"We don't have to leave for another hour love."

"Exactly. I'm behind schedule."

Talon got up from the couch, mumbling something about women and their high maintenance.

"Ready Shiri?" he asked.

Shiri clucked her tongue gently and Musetta trotted across the room to curl around her legs. The massive silver husky stuck his nose in her palm and snorted loudly.

"Come on sweetie," she said.

Musetta licked her hand and waited patiently for her to find the hand-strap of his harness. She held the braided leather lightly, knowing that Musetta wouldn't let her crash into anything. He led her out the door as they followed Talon into the bright New Orleans sunshine. He crouched at her feet when she settled into the catamaran.

They sped quickly over the swamp, stopping at the shed where Talon kept his many toys.

"I'm thinking the Viper," he said conversationally. "Unless Musetta wants to ride a Harley of course."

Musetta growled like he understood.

"I'm taking that as a no."

Talon opened the door to his back Viper for her and let Musetta into the back.

"You must really love Sunshine," Shiri commented, voice amused. "You're letting one of her friend bring a dog into your car."

"As long as he doesn't take a crap on my leather seats, we're good."

She could hear the smile in his words as he pulled out of the garage and flew down the road that led to town. It was mostly silent on the ride over. Neither of them were big talkers, and Shiri always found Talon's company relaxingly soothing. Except for when he was driving. Not that he was a bad driver, but he was a fast driver. Sometimes, Shiri could almost believe that she preferred Julian's driving. Almost.

When they pulled up in front of her apartment above Runningwolf's, Talon cut the engine.

"You need a ride to Grace's?" he asked.

"No. Selena offered to drive me. But thank you."

She got out of the car, clucking her tongue for Musetta.

"Thanks Talon. See you in an hour."

Talon said goodbye and shot into the darkness, engine purring as he pushed it into high gear.

"He's going to get a speeding ticket," Shiri said absently as she let herself into her apartment.

She smiled to herself.

"That or wrap himself into a pretzel around a telephone pole. Ex Dark-Hunter or not, the man drives like a lunatic."

* * *

><p>"Happy birthday Grace," Shiri grinned as she hugged her friend.<p>

"Oh, don't remind me. I already feel old."

Grace laughed and kissed her cheek before she was swept away by another well-wisher.

"Hi aunty Shiri!"

Shiri bent to scoop Niklos up into her arms.

"Hi sweetie. Were you nice to your mommy today?"

"Yeah. Daddy said if I'm mean I don't get dessert for a week."

"Blackmailing your children Julian?" Shiri teased as he tapped her shoulder in hello.

"Of course not. Niklos had too much sugar this morning."

"Did not," Niklos objected.

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too! I watched you eat a whole bowl of Frosted Flakes this morning!"

"Did not."

Julian growled in mock-frustration.

"I'd say you just got bested by a seven year old Julian."

"Says the person he got to pick him up. You know he was just rolling around outside with Marissa and Vanessa, right?"

Shiri took a delicate whiff of Niklos's clothes and made a face.

"You could've told me you were dirty," she chided.

"Sorry aunty Shiri."

She kissed his forehead before setting him on the floor. He paused briefly to hug her leg and then Julian's before disappearing with who she was pretty sure was Valerian.

"Do I have dirt on me?" she asked Julian, frowning as she fingered the silk of her dress.

"N-"

"It's everywhere."

Kyrian Hunter joined their small group.

"Is it really, Julian?"

"No. Kyrian's being immature."

"Am not."

"Sometimes I swear I'm raising you along with the twins."

"That burns Alexander."

"That's the truth Hunter."

Shiri laughed and left them to their bickering, Musetta close to her side. She didn't get far before someone collided into her.

"Hi girly," Tabitha Magnus gushed in a very un-Tabitha like manner, hugging her tightly.

How much did she have to drink? Shiri mouthed to Valerius, who she could sense standing nearby.

"Too much," he answered, normally subdued voice amused. "Come on love, I'm sure Shiri doesn't need to be overwhelmed by your exuberance."

"My exuberance?"

"You're a bit much sometimes darling."

"Hmph. That's not what you said last night."

Even blind, Shiri could tell Valerius was flushing. After saying a hasty goodbye, he pulled his wife away.

"People seem to be disappearing a lot," Shiri said to Musetta, stroking his velvet-soft head.

"What about appearing out of thin air?"

Shiri jumped when Acheron's voice sounded right behind her.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"I was just a bit startled. You can't sneak up on blind people like that Acheron. I'm sure there's something about that in etiquette books. Or something."

Acheron laughed, bending to scratch Musetta's head.

"How are you boy?" he asked.

Musetta barked once and licked his face.

"Sometimes I think he likes you more than me," Shiri commented ruefully.

"What can I say? I'm that hot."

"Musetta's a boy Ash."

"Same difference."

"Musetta's a dog Ash."

"Same difference."

Shiri cuffed him on the shoulder.

"You're in a better mood than the last time I saw you."

Acheron shrugged.

"Last time you saw me I was talking to Wulf."

"But you like Wulf."

"People irritate me sometimes."

"I'm a person."

"Yeah, but you're blind. No offense."

"None taken, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Not sure. But you're definitely less annoying than most people."

"…thank you?"

"Anytime."

Acheron paused and touched her shoulder.

"Could I talk to you alone for a sec Shiri?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Not really."

Shiri nodded and let Acheron lead her out of the crowded room. He stopped when they were in the hallway.

"How have your dreams been?" he asked.

Shiri hesitated.

"They're…stronger. More real."

"Are they still nightmares?"

"No. They're not the skoti anymore."

She flinched as she remembered the dream-demons that had tortured her for the last month.

"Dream-Hunters?"

Shiri shook her head.

"Not them either. I don't know who it is."

"Who?"

"It's the same man. Every time."

"Does he hurt you?"

"No."

"Then what?"

Shiri felt her cheeks flame.

In her dreams, there was a man who came to her every night. He had hair and eyes blacker than sin, a face carved of pure perfection. He was tall, lean, muscled. His tawny skin glowed in the moonlight that flooded over his body.

In her dreams, the man was her lover.

He'd greet her with a searing kiss while he whispered his desire for her. He'd strip her clothes slowly from her body while he murmured how beautiful she was. He'd make love to her while he told her how much she meant to him. And when he came, he'd cry out his love for her.

"Don't bother. I can already tell from your blush."

"I don't understand it Acheron. I've never-"

She broke off, no quite able to bring herself to say the words.

"'Purity' is written all over your face hon."

"Well then you know it's not something I'm trying to make happen. I don't understand it, and it's starting to freak me out Ash."

"Are you sure that's all it's making you feel?"

She felt her flush deepen at his teasing.

"I'm serious Acheron. I don't know what's happening."

"We'll figure it out."

Shiri paused. Something in the tone of Acheron's voice made her think he already knew what was going on, and he just wasn't telling her.

"Ash-"

"Oh would you look at that. Grace is ready to cut the cake."

Acheron disappeared into the living room after tapping her shoulder goodbye.

"He knows something Muse," Shiri said, kneeling to bury her face against his neck. "Something he's not telling us."

She sighed.

"Oh well. It's not like I can make him tell me. Trying to make Acheron tell you something he doesn't want to is like trying to move a mountain. Completely infuriating and completely useless."

* * *

><p>"Told you she'd like it," Shiri whispered to Sunshine, listening to Grace's delighted exclamations as she unwrapped her new vase.<p>

"I thought maybe I should go with navy instead but-"

"It's beautiful Sunny!" Grace said firmly. "I'm going to put the roses Julian gave me this morning in it."

She disappeared into the kitchen.

"Flowers," Kyrian snorted as soon as she was out of hearing range. "Typical Julian."

He laughed, but was cut off as Amanda smacked him on the head.

"I think it's romantic. And if I recall correctly, you got me a bouquet of hyacinths the other day just because you felt like it."

Kyrian shut up as Talon and Julian sniggered nastily.

"My wife abuses me," he grumbled a moment later. "For all I know, she's going to send me to the corner for timeout."

"Or you could spank him," Marissa suggested happily, tugging on her mother's skirt.

Amanda choked on her champagne while Kyrian burst into laughter.

"Let's go with Rissa's idea," he said. "I wouldn't mind. Frankly, I'd love every minute of it."

"Every minute of what?"

Grace was back, her voice puzzled.

Kyrian had another round of hysterics.

"It's not that funny," Amanda frowned.

"The Greek is drunk," Valerius sniffed.

"The Roman can go fu-"

"Kyrian! If you teach our daughter that language you can sleep in the garage."

He subsided into mumblings that sounded a lot like a five-year-old pouting.

"Aunty Shiri?"

Vanessa tugged on my hand.

"What is it sweetie?"

"What did you get my mommy? You can't come to a party unless you bring a present you know."

This time, Grace nearly spit out her drink.

"Nessie! You can't ask someone for a present!"

She sounded horrified as she scooped her daughter up into her arms.

"It's alright," Shiri laughed. "Vanessa's right. You can't come to a party without a present."

She clucked her tongue and Musetta appeared, her purse held lightly between his teeth. Bending down, she rummaged through it until she felt the package Amanda had helped her wrap earlier. She straightened and handed it to Grace.

"Happy birthday Gracie."

She stood still while she listened to the sounds of Niklos and Vanessa tearing into their mother's birthday present. Grace's delighted gasp made her smile.

"It's wonderful Shiri. Thank you."

"I know you like listening to it to relax. I figured you might be a bit more convenient in CD form since it's a bit more portable that say…me."

The disk she'd given to Grace held every song she'd ever composed—the one she'd written to celebrate the birth of the twins, the one for her marriage, and everything else as well.

"How much time did this take you?"

Shiri shrugged.

"A few days. I had Talon help me with recording and editing it. I never can seem to hit the right keys on the computer. Can't figure out why."

"Because yow bwind," Valerian supplied in gurgling baby-talk.

Shiri shook her head in amusement.

"Shiri, would you mind playing for us now?" Grace asked. "You know I love hearing you play."

Shiri nodded.

"Of course."

Musetta nosed her leg and led her over to the piano bench. When she sat down, he nosed her fingers to middle C, though she had long ago memorized where all the keys where. Satisfied he was done, he laid his head on the bench next to her, and snorted in a very I'm-ready-you-can-start-entertaining-me-now way.

"Which song?" Shiri asked.

"The twins' lullaby please."

Shiri nodded, playing a few notes just to get the feel of the piano. When she was certain that she was accustomed to it, she played the first few strains of the song she'd written years and years ago for Grace's baby shower. She was tense at first, feeling everyone's stares burning into her, but when she reached the first bridge, she relaxed.

Music had always done that for her. It was the only way she could escape, the only way she ever felt at peace. When she'd first discovered that Beethoven had been deaf, she'd sworn to herself that not being able to see wouldn't affect her music either. So she'd taught herself to play blind. And because she couldn't read music, she contented herself with writing it.

The last few notes of the lullaby echoed in the otherwise silent room.

"Pway another one," Valerian demanded imperiously, breaking the silence.

"He's as annoying as his dad," Kyrian whispered to Julian as Shiri started playing again.

She chose a much faster piece than the one before, one that her fingers flying over the keys as a song of war and victory floated from the ivory. She'd written the song to commemorate the lives all the Dark-Hunters in the room had led before they'd found their families, and the rhythms clashed so heavily that they fit together.

The last note hadn't stopped before she felt a tap on her back.

"Can you play my song?" Marissa asked.

"Of course sweetie."

Shiri let her fingers glide smoothly over the keys in a quick, light song that was as sweet as it was playful. She closed her unseeing eyes. Here, with the piano underneath her fingertips, Musetta nudging her leg, and her friends gathered close behind her—this was the only time that she ever felt at home.

This time, when the song ended, she kept playing.


	3. True Beauty

"**Yeah, I don't like you either."**

**Rain sneered at the daimon he'd just stabbed as it screamed and disappeared in a puff of dust.**

"**Who's next? Oh wait, I killed you all."**

**He was almost sorry to see them dead. He'd killed nearly ten daimons this night alone, and he was pretty sure that he wouldn't find many more. And he'd been out for less than three hours. Things were bound to get boring, and Rainier hated boring. Boring meant he had time to think, and thinking hurt. **

**He scowled as he used the toe of his boot to flip the dagger that had been lying on the concrete into his hand. He tucked it into his belt and sheathed his long swords. Turning, he was about to leave when soft strains of a foreign melody reached his ears.**

**He froze.**

**The song was so achingly beautiful that it made him grit his teeth against the emotions it caused. Unconsciously, he walked towards the sound, stalking through the garden of whatever house he was at to pause by a window. The curtains were drawn, but he could hear heartbeats inside, hear the breathing of maybe ten people, maybe a bit more. **

**And the song…**

**Piano notes so masterfully woven together that they made even his long frozen heart burn drifted around him. He closed his eyes as the melody that spoke of love and adoration made him feel so alone that it stung. He was about to leave and spend the rest of the night cursing Artemis, his soullessness, and everyone else in the world, when a voice caught his attention.**

"**I have to go. Promised Katra I'd stop by."**

**The voice was quiet, hushed. Whoever was speaking obviously didn't want to disrupt the song that was still saturating the air. But the voice was still crystal clear to Rain's ears. And it was Acheron's.**

**Looking around, he caught sight of the mailbox. It said Alexander in flowing letters. Damn.**

"**Stupid Greek," Rain muttered, stalking across the lawn to the front door. **

**Reaching out with the Dark-Hunter powers unique only to him, he touched Acheron's mind tentatively, knowing that he didn't like people messing with his thoughts.**

**Open the damn front door Acheron. **

**The lock clicked open and Rain stepped into the marble foyer. Acheron was waiting, tapping his leather-booted foot impatiently. **

"**How'd you end up here?" he asked.**

"**Tell Julian he's got daimons crawling on his front lawn."**

"**That's not why you're here."**

**Rain scowled.**

"**I'm leavin-"**

"**Come in. I'm sure Grace and Julian wouldn't mind."**

"**Grace and Julian can shove it up their-"**

"**It's her birthday Rain. Just say hi to her and the kids and then go back to hating yourself and the world."**

"**You're at the top of my list."**

"**Aren't I always."**

"**Taisez-vous."**

**Rain swept into the drawing room with Acheron close behind him. Inside were Kyrian, Julian, Talon, and Valerius with their families. They each sat with their arms around their wives, or in Kyrian's case, his face pressed against her neck. The closeness and affection permeating the room was practically tangible.**

**And it made him want to puke up what little food he'd been able to force himself to eat this evening. **

**He was about to tell Acheron where he could shove his "hello" and "happy birthday", when he realized that this room was where the music was coming from. It didn't take him long to pinpoint the source, and when he did, he felt his breathing stop.**

**A huge black grand piano dominated the southern corner of the room, angled so that whoever was playing was partially facing the rest of the room. A large silver husky sat at the foot of it, his head leaning on the bench. And sitting next to him, her fingers weaving the haunting melody that had enticed him in here in the first place, was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life.**

**Her nearly black hair was shot through with bronze, falling in a straight silken wave nearly to her waist. Against the crimson of her Greek-style tunic, it blazed in a dark silken stream. And against the glowing alabaster of her skin, it was radiant. Her complexion was all cream and roses. Her cheeks were flushed, her high, curved cheekbones highlighted a delicate pink. Her silver eyes were so pale that it looked like she was…blind.**

**He realized that her gaze was slightly off, never focusing on one thing for long enough for her to actually be seeing it. But it didn't seem to matter to her as she played. Her impossibly enticing lips curved into a small smile when her fingers slowed to a graceful stop.**

"**Beautiful, isn't she?" Acheron asked.**

**For once, Rain was silent.**

**The woman who was now standing and accepting the hugs of her friends held his attention in a way that no one had in over thirteen hundred years. She captivated him. He couldn't look anywhere else except her, until a voice shattered the silence. **

"**Look what the cat dragged in," Kyrian smirked.**

**Rain considered flipping him the bird but refrained when he saw four little pairs of eyes staring up at him. He wasn't about to lose his temper in front of children. Not when he knew how dangerous he was when he was upset. Besides, children always touched a part of him he'd never allowed anyone close to since the day he'd died.**

"**Rain just dropped by to tell Julian that you have daimons crawling on your front lawn," Acheron supplied. **

**Julian was on his feet so fast he blurred.**

"**What?"**

"**Three of them. They're all dead now, Rain took care of them. Though if I were you, I wouldn't let the twins out by themselves for a while. Perhaps not Grace either."**

**Julian gave a tight nod, his lips pressed into a thin line.**

"**Are you the new Dark-Hunter?" the woman by Talon asked.**

**Rain nodded.**

"**I'm Sunshine Runningwolf. Nice to meet you."**

**He nodded again and was about to leave, when a soft voice stopped him dead in his tracks. **

"**Wait."**

**He turned around slowly to face the tiny waif that could be no more than five four, maybe five that stood by the piano. Her delicate hand rested on the head of her dog, her head cocked to the side as she tried to find him with her ears.**

"**Rain, this is Shiri Callista," Acheron supplied. "Shiri, this is the new Dark-Hunter."**

**Shiri.**

**The name echoed in his mind, like he'd heard it before.**

"**It's nice to meet you Rain," she said, her smile melting in its kindness.**

**He didn't say anything, just watched the captivating movements of her lips. There was something familiar about her, something that told him he knew her, while at the same time, he knew he'd never met her before. If he had, he would remember.**

**But still…**

"**Do I know you?" he asked.**

**His answer was a shocked gasp.**

"**Shiri?" Kyrian asked, concerned. "What is it?"**

**She shook her head wordlessly, sightless eyes now fixed on his face like she could see him. The eerie silver nearly glowed in their intensity, and they never wavered as her dog led her across the room. When she stood in front of him, she hesitated. **

**And then placed her hands on his jaw.**

**Rain froze, electricity snapping down his spine. Her fingers were cool against his skin, and yet her touch sent heat spiking through his body and straight to his groin. And suddenly, he was so hard it should've been illegal. The only thing that kept him in check was the fact that he was in a room full of people.**

**Gritting his teeth, Rain was about to pull her hands away from him, when he realized what she was doing. She was "seeing" him. Her sensitive fingertips trailed over his hard jaw, across his sharply angled cheekbones, and along the bridge of his nose. They brushed his arched brows and traced his bow-shaped lips.**

**And the longer she stood in front of him, the more the rest of her body seemed to freeze and the slower her breathing got, until Rain was pretty sure she wasn't breathing at all.**

"**What-, what color are your eyes?" she finally asked, voice uncertain.**

"**Black. Like his heart," Kyrian supplied, not seeming to think it was weird at all that his friend was feeling up the new Dark-Hunter's face.**

**Rain let a growl slide from between his bared teeth, but cut it off abruptly as Shiri tiptoed to run her hands through his hair. He hadn't bothered to cut it in a while and it just brushed the nape of his neck, shaggy and choppy in a way that either had to be done at an expensive salon, or with a pair of rusty kitchen scissors. Rain did not do salons.**

**Shiri brushed his hair out of his eyes.**

"**What color is your hair?"**

"**Black."**

**She stepped back, face both worried and relieved at the same time.**

"**It's him Acheron," she said.**

"**Hmm?"**

**She turned and gave him a look he couldn't quite decipher.**

"**I recognized his voice," she explained. "And his face is the same. And his eyes and his hair. I'm positive it's him."**

"**Would someone care to explain what's going on?" Rain asked, royally pissed that they knew something he didn't.**

**Acheron grinned and pointed at Shiri.**

"**She stalks you in her dreams."**

* * *

><p>"<strong>It means sweetie, that the poor idiot stalks you too," Tabitha explained to Shiri, gesturing vaguely in Rain's direction.<strong>

**He bit back the sharp retort he was about to fling at her at the look on Valerius's face. He had no doubt that he could beat him in a fight, and he had no wish to harm someone in front of his child. **

"**I don't stalk you," he said to Shiri. "Just the occasional dream."**

"**He stalks you," Kyrian supplied.**

"**What I want to know is why you two dream about each other."**

**Tabitha's twin Amanda furrowed her brow.**

"**Acheron?"**

"**I got nothing."**

**He definitely knew something.**

"**Ash-"**

"**Oh, would you look at that. I'm late for meeting Katra."**

**He disappeared with a smirk.**

"**Well," Sunshine said into the silence, a…sunny smile on her face. "This is interesting."**

"**Fascinating," Rain said flatly. **

"**No really. You two are connected somehow."**

**She turned to Talon.**

"**Maybe they're soulmates," she said excitedly. "You know, maybe they knew each other in their past lives like us and-"**

**Rain gagged.**

"**I know your story Sunshine. I know you're Talon's ancient wife or whatever. But let me tell you right now that I was never married, and I sure as hell didn't like anyone enough to even consider marrying them. So no, Shiri is not a freaky reincarnation of my dead wife."**

**Sunshine looked disappointed. **

"**Kyrian and I sometimes share dreams," Amanda suddenly said. "The first night I stayed at his house, I-"**

**She winced, like the memory was painful.**

"**It wasn't a…nice dream. But we shared it. Maybe…what are the dreams about?"**

**Like he was going to tell her.**

**When he dreamed about Shiri, he dreamed about making love to her until they both couldn't move. Her face was always shadowed, but her voice was always crystal clear and so achingly sweet that it melted the ice he'd shielded his heart with long ago. He'd hold her close to him while he lost himself in her—body, mind, and soul.**

**Yeah. He was going to keep that one to himself.**

"**Nothing really," he lied.**

"**Hmm…"**

**She didn't sound convinced, but she let the subject drop. The room was silent for a minute, before Rain stood from his seat.**

"**I have to get back to the streets," he said quietly, somehow finding himself reluctant to leave the presence of the woman who sat quietly petting her dog on the other side of the room.**

"**Will you-"**

"**Yeah. I'll check the house before I leave."**

**Julian nodded in thanks.**

"**You could always stay for a while," Grace offered. **

**Rain worked not to curl his lip at the offer of friendship he didn't really need or want. He was only here temporarily, and if the ex Dark-Hunters thought he wanted to get all buddy-buddy with them, then they needed to find something else to fantasize about. The only reason he'd stayed so long was-**

"**Will I see you again?" Shiri asked, standing.**

**Rain couldn't quite bring himself to say no.**

"**Maybe," was all he said. **

**She nodded like she'd expected nothing more. **

"**Be careful," she finally told him. "I keep sensing things out there.**

**Rain frowned.**

"**You're psychic?"**

**It would certainly explain how a mortal knew about Dark-Hunters and their world. But Shiri just laughed, shaking her head slightly.**

"**Far from it. And even if I was, I have nothing on Tabby and Amanda."**

"**I'd trade powers with you any day," Tabitha grumbled.**

"**No you wouldn't," Valerius snorted.**

"**You're right. I wouldn't," she agreed, turning to Shiri. "Sorry hon, you know I love you, but I rather like my eyes. I wouldn't trade them and my limited powers for yours. No matter how snazzy I think they are."**

**Shiri shrugged.**

"**We all pay a price for our gifts."**

**Rain made an irritated noise.**

"**Oh," she said, realizing she hadn't told him anything yet. "I can sense daimons when they're close. Not predicting the future or anything like Amanda, but I can tell when they'll attack if they're within a few miles."**

**She smiled ruefully.**

"**I paid for it though. I traded one sense for the other."**

**Rain nodded, suddenly understanding.**

"**You traded your eyesight for your daimon-sight."**

"**Mm hmm. The latter is much more useful though. Keeps these four out of trouble. On the rare occasion that they actually listen."**

**She waved her hand at Kyrian, Julian, Talon, and Valerius.**

"**Either way, I can tell something's out there Rain. If you're not careful, you could get hurt. I'd…I hope that doesn't happen. Watch out for yourself, okay?"**

**The sound of his name on her lips made him bite his lip to keep from saying something stupid. The soft lilting accent in her voice wasn't quite Greek and wasn't quite not Greek either. Her voice caressed his name like a physical touch, which wasn't helping his arousal at all. Not to mention that he was pretty sure she was the first person to ever care whether or not he came back alive. **

**But he wasn't stupid enough to let her know it.**

"**Scout's Honor," he answered, giving her a salute he knew she couldn't see.**

'**You were a Boy Scout?" Kyrian snorted. "As if. The thought of you in one of those uniforms…"**

**He raised an eyebrow and smirked.**

"**I can give you something else to think about Greek."**

**Rain pulled back his lips and bared his fangs.**

"**Scary. I'm shaking in my boots."**

"**If you had any sense, you would be."**

**Rain glared at him and turned to leave.**

"**Be careful."**

**The words made him pause in the doorframe, though he refused to turn around and meet the pale silver eyes that had held him captive since he'd first seen them.**

"**Be careful," she repeated, voice sounding so much like an order that he fought the urge to laugh at the thought of a bind woman who he had about ten inches and probably a hundred pounds on telling him what to do. **

"**I make no promises chérie, but I can tell you that I have no intention of dying tonight."**

**He smirked.**

"**Like I'm ever going to do the world the favor of leaving it."**


	4. Weakness

"He's interesting. I like him."

"He's a crazy loon who hates the world."

"You were a crazy loon who hated the world. You're still a crazy loon."

Shiri nudged Kyrian's leg with her foot.

"If it weren't for Amanda, you'd still hate the world too."

"Exactly. I have Amanda. He doesn't."

"Well maybe he just needs to meet the right person."

Kyrian snorted.

"Like he'd ever."

"You never know. He's quite…handsome."

Shiri bit her lip, thinking about how much more than handsome her dream-lover was. With midnight hair that was so black it bordered on purple and blue, and eyes so depthless and obsidian, they burned, he was as dark and sin. And just as tempting. His perfectly arching brows and long lashes framed slanting cat eyes that glittered with intelligence. His aristocratic nose and hard, square jaw belied perfect bone structure that his high, sharply angled cheekbones only served to accentuate. And those lips…. They could drive any woman wild with imagining what his kiss would feel like.

Only Shiri already knew.

She sighed.

"But he's wild," she continued. "There's something in him that's dark."

"Is he dangerous?" Kyrian asked, suddenly alert.

"No. It's not my daimon-sense. He's definitely not one of them. It's just he's…lost."

Kyrian nodded like he understood that. Before he'd found Amanda, he'd been as shut off from the world as Rain. It was only after she'd taught him to love again that he'd dared to open his heart to others.

"I wish Acheron would stop being so secretive," Shiri frowned. "He won't tell me anything. I'm sure he knows why I keep having dreams about Rain, but he flashes away every time I ask him."

"Ash knows what he's doing."

"He better. It's driving me crazy. The dreams are worse now."

Or better, depending on how you looked at it.

Everything was impossibly more vivid now that she'd met Rain in person. She was able to see his face in her dreams now, the perfection of his body. He was probably around 6'3" and every inch of him was solid muscle. Thin and lean, his steel-corded body burned like fire when he was with her. And the way he looked at her…

Like she meant everything to him.

Yeah. They were definitely more intense.

"Does he ever hurt you in them?" Kyrian asked, looking suspicious.

"Of course not."

"You say that like you think he's not capable of it."

Shiri paused.

"I…I really don't think he is."

"He's a ruthless killer Shiri."

"You're a ruthless killer."

"The only things I kill are blonde, dead, and soul-sucking."

"I'm sure those are the only things he kills too."

"You never know. He was looking at you the other night like he wanted to eat you."

"I'm sure he's not a cannibal either Kyrian."

"That's not what I meant. From the way he was eyeing you, I'd have sworn the two of you were already naked and doing it on the floor."

Shiri was shocked at the sudden heat that spiked through her body at his words. The picture it painted in her head made her stomach coil tight and her breasts tighten. She'd never felt anything like this. She'd never even wanted to kiss a man before, let alone well…that.

Except in her dreams.

Except with Rain.

"I'm sure he doesn't want me like that either," she finally answered quietly. "A blind person who attracts daimons like you attract girls wouldn't exactly be my ideal lover either."

"You don't attract daimons like I attract girls. I'm way more popular with the ladies."

Shiri couldn't help but laugh.

"I only wish Kyrian."

In reality, it was so much worse.

It hadn't taken long for the daimons to figure out that she could sense them and tell where they were hiding. And when they'd figured out she could pinpoint both them and their bolt-holes exactly, she'd gone higher up on their hit-lists than even the Dark-Hunters in the area. She couldn't count the number of times that Musetta had saved her from one of them.

Like he could tell what she was thinking about, Musetta nudged her hand with his nose.

Shiri smiled as she remembered how she'd gotten Musetta. Ash had given him to her when she'd been ten, when he'd first figured out that the reason that people like Kyrian and Talon kept having to save her pre-pubescent butt was because she was more of a target that even they were.

Though not a Were-Hunter, Musetta had many of their powers. He wasn't able to go human, and he couldn't talk to her with his mind, but he was as intelligent as a human was, perhaps more so. He could fight nearly as well as a Were-Hunter and certainly well enough to protect her from the things that never seemed to stop chasing her.

"Maybe you shouldn't live on your own," Kyrian said worriedly, seeming to know what was bothering her.

"Are you going to let me move in with you?"

She ached an eyebrow.

"And before you say yes and lie, I'd say no anyway. I don't need to hear you and Amanda going at it every five minutes."

Even blind, she could tell Kyrian was flushing.

"We do not go at it every fives minutes," he muttered. "Besides, how do you even know what going at it is? You're like what…seventeen?"

"Try twenty-five."

"Whatever. You still look like a teenager."

"I'm not sure whether I should be insulted or complimented."

"Probably the first one. I don't do nice."

She rolled her sightless eyes at him.

"Believe me Kyrian, you may be insensitive, immature, and completely narcissistic, but one thing you're not is insensitive."

She patted his hand, smiling.

"Don't worry. The fact that you actually have emotions and the maturity to interpret them will be our little secret."

He growled playfully and shoved her shoulder. Shiri had to bite back a laugh as Musetta growled right back and nipped his hand.

"Sorry," she apologized when she was certain she could speak without laughing. "He's kind of riled up these days."

She ran her fingers through his thick fur to calm him, letting him lick her wrist and nibble her palm.

"I think it's the same thing I'm feeling."

"The daimons?"

"I think so."

"Do you know how many?"

She shook her head.

"I'm not even sure where, which is what's surprising me. They have to be pretty far for me not to be able to tell right where they are, and if they're that far, I usually can't sense them at all."

"Maybe your powers are expanding."

"Maybe…"

Shiri doubted that. Whatever her powers were telling her, it wasn't that they decided to have a growth spurt. She could feel them churning in her now, the slight uneasiness in her mind warning her that something of daimon origin was waiting to attack. Whatever was out there was big, pissed, and more dangerous that anything she'd sensed so far.

"Does it hurt?"

Kyrian knew the physical toll her powers took on her. The closer the daimons got, the sicker she got.

"Sometimes. But it's…it's better now."

She could tell he was frowning.

"Since when?"

"Since…"

She hesitated, knowing he wouldn't like the answer.

"Since Rain came."

It was true.

When she'd first met him in person, the thing that had struck her most wasn't his impossibly seductive voice, the body that had been built for sex, or the dangerous aura around him that was practically tangible—it was the fact that when he was near her, the ache in her head disappeared.

Which thrilled her at the same time it scared her to death.

With him, she was finally able to think clearly. The dull buzz in her thoughts was gone, and she felt peace within herself for the first time in her life. And yet, without her powers, she felt oddly exposed, vulnerable. Not knowing where the daimons were meant she couldn't warn the others. And not being able to protect those she loved terrified her. She'd lost her parents when she was just old enough to be able to remember them, and she refused to lose anyone else.

The strangest thing was, that though she was well and truly blind in his presence, Shiri felt safer with Rain than she'd ever felt with anyone. He was rude, snappy, and downright nasty at times, and yet there was a part of him she could tell was hurting. Something that told her that he'd never see an innocent hurt.

But above that, something that told her he'd never let her get hurt.

"You've only seen the guy once," Kyrian said disapprovingly, jerking her out of her reverie.

"I know but-"

"Please don't tell me you are his dead wife come back to life."

"Of course not."

"You never know. I never thought Talon would end up with someone who didn't dress like a goth Celt, but look what happened there."

"You're impossible Kyrian. How in the name of the gods does Amanda deal with you?"

"I'm ravishing."

"That's not an answer Kyri."

"I know. I just felt like it was worth saying."

Shiri sighed like a disappointed parent.

"As much as I love hearing you be narcissistic Kyrian, I have to go. I promised Val that I'd watch Valerian tonight while he and Tabby go do something I probably don't want to know about."

Kyrian snorted.

"I bet I can guess what they're going to-"

"Don't want to know."

Kyrian laughed and stood up when she did.

"Need a ride home?"

"No. I'm going to walk."

It was only a few blocks to her house and it wasn't dark out yet, and Shiri hated being a burden to those around her. Besides, walking a bit might help ease the tension she'd felt for the last few days.

"Are you sure?" "Yeah. I have Musetta."

Musetta growled in confirmation and brushed past Kyrian with a flick of his tail.

"He doesn't like me much," Kyrian observed. "Then again, he doesn't like anyone."

"Actually, he likes Talon and Sunny. And Val and Tabby. And Julian and Grace. And Amanda. Come to think of it, he just doesn't like you."

Shiri smiled and reached to smooth the frown lines from Kyrian's forehead.

"I think it's because you act like your kids," she observed, tapping his nose. "Gods know that sometimes I feel like I should be babysitting you instead of Marissa sometimes."

She laughed.

"You certainly need it more than she does."

* * *

><p>"Sweetie, you can't eat other people's dogs," Shiri scolded, kneeling to ruffle Musetta's fur.<p>

He let out a very exasperate sigh.

"I know. I'll feed you when we get home."

Slightly mollified, Musetta let slide the strap of the harness Ash had designed for her over her hand. Made of dyed-silver leather, it matched Musetta's so well that it wasn't visible unless you knew it was there. It crisscrossed his chest, running around his powerful shoulders to fasten on his back. Thin leather ties ran from the harness to her hand, twining around her fingers and palm like a netted glove. The leather was like a second skin, and through it, she could feel Musetta's movements like they were hers. Her extremely sensitive hands could interpret his movements as soon as he made them.

"Come on Muse, let's go."

Musetta sniffed her wrist once and then turned, leading her down the street. He walked slowly, sticking close to her side. He would lift his lip and growl every so often at what she assumed was a passerby. To calm him, Shiri started singing softly.

_One life to live,_

_One love to find,_

_Of all the world's stars._

_Only one is mine._

_Mine to love,_

_Mine to hold near,_

_Of all the world's stars._

_Only one I hold dear._

_Only one life to live,_

_Only one love to find,_

_Of all the world's stars._

_I pray you are only mine._

She hummed quietly after that, lost in her thoughts.

Until pain so intense it brought her to her knees ripped through her mind.

Daimons. It had to be. Nothing ever cause her pain like this unless daimons were near. Very near. Shiri could hear them now, hear them crossing the empty street to where she was kneeling. She heard a snarl slide from Musetta's muzzle as he crouched in front of her.

"What do we have here?" one of them drawled.

"The Seer?" another put in, the voice dripping with rancor.

"And all alone too. No Dark-Hunter friends tonight."

The daimon sounded absolutely joyful about that. From all the excited murmurings, Shiri estimated there were four, maybe five. They stood around her in a circle now, their voices floating down to hit her over-sensitized ears. She winced. With daimons this close, all her senses were so acute it hurt. Especially the pain that was near debilitating in its intensity as it caged her mind.

She cried out in pain as a hand fell on her shoulder.


	5. Wanting

**Rain was just leaving his apartment when the scream cut through his head.**

**Shiri.**

**The mental voice was unmistakably hers. Rain had always had the power to touch other people's minds, but for him to find and recognize someone this easily shocked him, especially because she wasn't intentionally reaching out to him. But he shoved the thought away as he realized that Shiri's cry had been one of pain and desperation.**

**He couldn't quite contain the feral snarl that ripped its way out of his throat. **

**Sending his mind into the quickly darkening night, he found Shiri. She was less than a mile away. He reached her faster than he knew he could, focused only on getting her away from whatever was causing her the agony he'd heard in her voice.**

**He found her with four daimons trying to reach her through the flash of silver fur that he recognized was her dog. The silver wraith had crimson claws and teeth, blue eyes icy with rage. But he barely saw any of that. Rain's eyes flew to Shiri.**

**She was on her knees, head in her hands with her eyes closed. Her skin was drawn and pale, lip bleeding she was biting it so hard. There were no other outward signs of trauma, but seeing the raw pain on her face was enough for Rain.**

**Some part of him recoiled at the thought of her being hurt in any way, of her being in any discomfort. A wave of protectiveness flooded him and he gritted his teeth. He barely knew the woman in front of him, had dreamt of her more than he'd actually seen her in reality, and yet, he wanted to keep her safe with a need that bordered on desperation.**

**His feet carried him forward without him knowing it. Grabbing the first daimon by the neck, he flipped him over and slammed him down on to the pavement. Unsheathing his long sword, Rain ran the blade through the daimon's heart, growling in satisfaction as the man disappeared with a scream and a cloud of dust.**

**Standing, he whirled around to catch the arm of the second daimon, who had pulled out a dagger.**

"**Takes a lot more than a butter knife to kill me blondie," he snarled.**

**He slammed his palm down onto the daimon's elbow, bending it backwards and shattering the joint. The daimon howled in pain. Smiling grimly, Rain dispatched him with a quick stab to the chest. The third one jumped at him before he could turn, and he cursed, feeling a dagger slide into his skin above his hip. **

"**It's a new shirt," he growled, watching blood soak it.**

**He jerked the knife out of his side and grabbed the daimon. He flipped him to the ground and landed on top of him, using the daimon's weapon to dispatch him. He rose to find that the last daimon was dead already. Shiri's dog had seen to that. And now the crimson-stained silver ghost had turned to him, snarling.**

"**If you haven't noticed you overgrown Chihuahua, I just saved both your lives. So shut up before I decide that you piss me off too, and move."**

**The dog didn't stop growling, but stepped aside and let Rain through to Shiri. **

**She was shaking, her arms around herself like she was trying to hold herself together. She didn't even seem to notice him until he was crouched next to her, touching her ice cold hand with hesitant fingers.**

"**Shiri?" he asked.**

**She didn't answer, but she squeezed his fingers lightly.**

**Rain frowned. She was shivering. He shrugged out of his leather jacket and draped it around her shoulders. Ignoring the dog's growls, he scooped her up in his arms and cradled her to his chest as he stood.**

"**Shut it," he growled right back at her pet. "I'm just taking her somewhere safe, okay? So you can stop trying to take off my leg with your dentures."**

**He strode away, back to his apartment. **

**Shiri lay quietly in his arms, and he noted with satisfaction that her shaking slowly stopped and she lost the deathly paleness. And when she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder, he didn't quite have the words to describe the feelings that flowed through him.**

**He carried her through the garage that held his Porsche 918 Spyder and Lamborghini Gallardo and up the metal stairs at the back of the room. They led to his loft, and he took her to his room, where he set her gently down on the black covers of his bed. **

**There was a tenderness in his actions that he hadn't known himself capable of. But something about this woman made him want to protect her from everything—even himself. So he sat a few feet away from her, on the edge of the mattress.**

"**Are you okay?" he asked, watching her pet the dog who, much to his annoyance, had settled on the floor by her head.**

"**Fine," she murmured.**

**She turned her sightless eyes to him.**

"**Thank you," she said. **

"**It's my job."**

**Like he was going to tell her that the thought of her hurt made his dead heart constrict with pain. Better she thought he didn't care, at least until he figured out why it was that he did care.**

"**Thank you anyway. It's not usually that bad. I can usually stay on my feet at least."**

**She smiled slightly.**

"**You have no clue what I'm talking about, do you?"**

"**No. And I don't enjoy feeling stupid. I can assure you it's not a feeling I get often."**

**Her lips curved again.**

"**I pay a price for my powers beyond my sight. When they're near, it takes its physical toll on me. When they're close enough to touch me, it's debilitating it hurts so badly. When they touch me-"**

**She broke off, but she didn't have to say anything for him to know that it was excruciating for her. He'd heard her mental cry, heard the pain that layered it.**

"**You need to rest," he said, frowning.**

"**I'm fin-"**

"**You look like a demon just ate you and spit you back out."**

"**Ravishing compliment."**

"**I try."**

**She sighed.**

"**I should go home," she said. "You need to be killing daimons, not taking care of a sick, blind person."**

**She moved to push herself up, but Rain put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.**

"**It'll be easier to watch you if you stay here," he told her. "I'm pretty sure those daimons didn't find you on accident, did they?"**

**She shook her head.**

"**I'm guessing that they don't like the fact that there's a mortal that can sense them and expose them to the Dark-Hunters."**

**She shook her head again.**

"**You're extremely perceptive," she murmured.**

"**No. It's just not hard to put two and two together."**

**He touched her cheek.**

"**Really, it's fine Shiri. Just stay here and rest, okay? I'll go patrol in a while."**

**She looked like she wanted to argue, but decided against it.**

"**Thank you. Again," was all she said.**

**She offered him a small smile before she fell asleep.**

* * *

><p><strong>Rain didn't want to admit how much he liked having Shiri in his bed. Not even to himself. But there was no denying that the wild, less-human part of him definitely enjoyed having her black-bronze hair strewn across his pillow, her tiny body wrapped in his sheets. The only thing wrong with the picture was that he wasn't in bed with her and they were still wearing clothes.<strong>

**He sighed. The hard-on was back. Not that it hadn't been before. Just thinking about her could make him hard and aching to be inside her body. She wasn't particularly tall and not lushly curvaceous, but something about her set his body on fire whenever he got near her. Her hips slid up to a narrow waist, followed by a small bust that nevertheless enticed him beyond reason. Her face was all gracefully sloping lines, full lips so feminine and inviting that he was dying to taste them.**

"**Rain."**

**He jerked in surprise when he heard his name on her lips. Crouching next to her, he laid his palm against her cheek in a tender action that he was barely aware of. **

"**Shiri?"**

**She was still asleep.**

"**Gods," he groaned. "This is like some screwed up version of that chick-flick. Twilight or Twinkie or something like that."**

**Only the emotions he was feeling now were real. **

**Hearing his name come from that angel's mouth had some part of him shaking with the desire to know what it'd be like to hear her say it when she was awake. When she was in his arms. When he was inside of her.**

**He tore himself away from her side with a curse.**

**She was human. He was not. She was mortal. He'd been alive for nearly fifteen-hundred years. She had a family and people who loved her. He'd been hunted since the day his mother had told the midwife to throw him to the wolves. She carried a light in her that reached out to everyone who saw her.**

**He was everything that the world despised.**

**But the part of him that couldn't seem to help responding to her wanted to know what it felt like to be held by someone.**

**No, not someone. Shiri.**

**She alone had managed to touch him after all his centuries alone. Damned if he knew why, but the part of him that wanted her wanted to keep her with him. Permanently. **

"**Sacre bleu Sainte-Claire," he muttered to himself. "C'est la plus bête idée que j'ai jamais entendu."**

**Gritting his teeth, he grabbed his swords from where he'd thrown them on the floor.**

**With one last look at Shiri, he left.**

* * *

><p>"<strong>Where the hell is Shiri?"<strong>

**Rain fought the urge to growl into his phone.**

"**Damn it Frenchie. If you don't tell me where she is, I'm going to find you and make a puff pastry out of you."**

"**Try it and I'll make hummus out of you Greek."**

**Kyrian didn't bother trying to mask his growl.**

"**She's as good as my sister, and if you hurt her, I'm not the only one who you're going to have to deal with."**

"**Yeah. I noticed your little coven has an obsession with her."**

"**Rain-"**

"**She's at my apartment."**

"**What?"**

"**She was attacked by daimons. Four of them."**

**The other end of the phone went silent as Rain heard Kyrian suck in a sharp breath."**

"**Is she…okay?"**

"**Yeah."**

"**Do you-"**

"**She told me what it does to her when they're near her."**

**Kyrian sighed.**

"**I guess I owe you an apology Frenchie."**

"**Don't want one."**

"**Figured you wouldn't."**

**Kyrian was silent for a second.**

"**Listen Kyrian. If you don't have anything else to yell at me for or accuse me of, I have to get back to the streets. There's a daimon a trying to eat a delivery boy two houses down."**

**Kyrian offered him a terse goodbye and hung up.**

"**No good deed goes unpunished," Rain muttered as he dropped from the roof of the building he was standing on and landed on top of a daimon. **

**He curled his lip as he buried his dagger to the hilt in the daimon's chest.**

"**C'est la vie, non?"**

* * *

><p><strong>She was awake when she got back.<strong>

**She sat on the foot of his bed, legs curled under her as the dog's head rested in her lap. She played idly with its silver fur. She obviously hadn't heard him come in, because she sang absently to herself, unaware that she had an audience.**

_** I will hold you forever, my warrior prince,**_

_** Through the ice of the winter, through the fires of hell.**_

_** I will love you forever, my warrior prince,**_

_** Not even in death, will I bid thee farewell. **_

**Rain stood immobile as her words tore through him. Sweet and soft, her voice was magic as it pierced his heart. It was like a tangible caress on his skin, and he shuddered with the aching need it aroused. Not sure he could take any more of it without ravaging her senseless, he knocked on the doorframe.**

"**You're back," she said, smiling delightedly.**

**He positively melted.**

**No one had ever been concerned over whether he lived or died. Certainly no one had ever been glad about his return. The radiant look Shiri was giving him told him just how pleased she was to have him back.**

**And what an idiot he was for caring.**

"**You're awake," he answered. **

"**I was waiting to say goodbye."**

**He frowned.**

"**What?"**

"**I should go. I've intruded on your hospitality long enough."**

**Now there was something to make him laugh. Him. Hospitable. The other Dark-Hunters would probably laugh themselves a hemorrhage over that.**

"**It's not a problem Shiri."**

"**I know. I just don't like feeling dependent on people."**

**She stood, her dog close at her heels.**

"**Come on Musetta," she said, slipping her hand into a harness I hadn't even noticed the dog wore.**

"**Wait."**

**Before he could make sense of his actions, Rain crossed the distance between them and placed a hand on her shoulder. Surprised, Shiri turned wide eyes up to him. The trust and innocence in her gaze were the only things keeping him in check as the fire that he always felt when he touched her went straight from his fingertips to his groin.**

"**You should stay here," he told her.**

"**What?"**

"**It's light outside already."**

**She frowned, not understanding. Hell, he didn't even really understand. All he knew was that the thought of her leaving unprotected to walk home made the feral side of him snarl. He wanted to make sure she was safe, and doing that while he wasn't able to step into the sun wasn't exactly easy.**

"**Just stay the day," he said. "Until I can take you home. Or until one of the others can come get you." "They have to work, and I don't want to disturb them, and-"**

"**Then just stay the day."**

**He didn't quite know what had made him say the words, but they felt right. Having her stay with him. He liked the idea.**

"**You have to sleep," she said doubtfully. "You're tired."**

**She reached up to touch his face, fingers gliding over his skin.**

"**You're tense," she murmured. "You really should sleep Rain."**

"**I'll sleep better knowing you're safe."**

**After hesitating for a second, she nodded.**

"**You're very sweet," she said.**

"**Sweet?" he snorted. "Kyrian would laugh himself into a coma if he heard you say that."**

**She smiled and made him jerk in surprise when she tiptoed to kiss his cheek.**

"**Good thing he's not here then."**


	6. Enough for Now

"He's just a little rough around the edges."

Musetta snorted what sounded like a laugh.

"I'm serious Muse. He just needs someone to balance out all that darkness he keeps locked up inside of him."

Another snort.

Shiri hid her smile against his neck, burying her face in his fur. It was probably around two in the afternoon by now, and she was curled up on Rain's couch with Muse's head in her lap. Rain had left her hours earlier with permission to browse his loft and pretty much do whatever. He'd only asked that she stay inside where he could reach her if something happened.

"You must admit that he's terribly sweet," she continued. "Even if he does try to hide it behind all that well…Rain-ness."

Musetta nudged her stomach.

"Well I like him at least. There's something…different about him. Not just the dreams. He makes me feel…alive."

Shiri frowned, not quite sure how to explain what this stranger that was as wild as he was dangerous, who took care of her like a lover, made her feel. Warm. Achy. Needing. They were foreign sensations to her, ones she'd only read about in books or heard her friends describe. But there was no doubt that with Rainer Sainte-Claire, she wanted things she'd never even considered in her life.

Like he knew what she was thinking, Musetta snorted a reproach.

"I know Muse. I'm not blind enough to believe someone like him would want someone like me. No pun intended."

And yet, she couldn't seem to stop herself as she stood up and walked towards the door that led to Rain's bedroom. With Musetta guiding her, she slipped into the room.

He breathed softly in his sleep, peacefully. Shiri perched on the edge of his bed. When her curiosity overruled her common sense, she stretched out her hand and laid it against his skin. It was his shoulder. Tight, steely muscle was coiled under her palm, delectably toned. His skin was warm satin against her fingers, except for where scars marred it. Shiri slid her fingers across the wide expanse of his chest, following the path of one of his many scars. She laid her hand on his firm pectoral, above is heart.

She could swear his breathing picked up.

She trailed her fingers across his chest, marveling at the strength and power of the body under her hands. The finest artisans could not have created something more perfect. She traced every one of his impossibly hard and defined abs, making him tense in his sleep. But when she raked her nails lightly across his hipbone, his hand flew to cover hers.

"Easy chérie," he said in a rough, seductive voice that sent shivers down her spine. "You won't like what happens if you keep that up."

"And what exactly would that be?" she whispered.

"I'm going to strip you naked, throw you on my bed, and make love to you until we both can't move."

Her lips parted slightly, and she heard him groan.

"That's not helping sweetheart. I'm this close to kissing you senseless."

He placed two fingers on her upturned palm, less than a centimeter away from each other.

Shiri trembled at his touch.

"I think…I think I wouldn't mind that," she said in a husky tone she didn't recognize as her own.

Her answer was a flash of movement before Rain pulled her into his arms. With a gentleness that made her shiver, he brushed her hair back from her forehead, caressing the black-bronze strands reverently. He pressed his lips to hers.

And the world spun.

Shiri gasped at the feel of his mouth on hers, the feel of his teeth nibbling her lips and his tongue asking for entrance. She parted her lips and he explored every inch of her mouth with slow sensual licks that made her stomach contract. The fire in low in her navel flared to life, fueling the passion she could feel he was harboring.

And yet he held her gently, as though he was scared he would break her.

"You have never been kissed before," he breathed quietly when he pulled away.

It wasn't a question. But before she could say anything, he kissed her again, slowly, sweetly.

"No," she whispered, when he let her breathe, though he kept his lips against hers. "I have never kissed anyone before."

He smiled against her mouth.

"I am not judging you chère. I am quite happy that there is no one I have to kill for touching you."

Before she could answer, he cupped her chin to pull her even closer as he ravaged her with his lips and tongue. Carefully, he laid her down on his bed, laying his body over hers.

Shiri shivered as she realized all he wore was a pair of athletic shorts.

She placed her hands on his shoulders, loving the feel of his muscles tensing under her touch. When she slid her palms to rest on his chest, he moaned into her mouth. His hand reached for her ankle as he hooked her leg around his hip.

"Oh," she gasped, blushing as she felt his steely erection.

His laugh was low, seductive.

"That is what you do to me ma fleur."

He rotated his hips slowly against hers and she stifled a moan.

"Mm, do not hide from me petite fleur."

He slipped a hand under her back to press her closer.

This time, she made no attempt to hide her sigh of pleasure. Rain was sending sensations through her body that made her hot and achy and needing. His touch was divinity and his kiss made her mindless. Sliding her hands to his slim waist, she arched into his rotating hips.

Rain hissed in pleasure.

"Careful," he whispered. "I want you much too much already."

He kissed her once more before he pulled away, balancing his body on his forearms.

"Rain-"

"Shh," he soothed, kissing her forehead.

He cupped her cheek with his palm.

"I don't know what I feel for you," he said softly. "Only that with you, I am alive in ways that I have not been since the day I died. Perhaps even before that. And for that, I will hold you close in ways that I have not held anyone ever."

He hugged her to him and rolled over, laying her across his chest as he slid his hand into her hair.

"You are not like the others," he said in a quiet voice. "I will not treat you like them."

She knew he meant the other women he'd been…intimate with.

She winced at the thought, though she knew it was stupid to think that someone as devastatingly handsome as him would stay celibate.

"But know this," he continued, answering her unspoken questions. "I have not been with a woman since I met you. Not since I first dreamed of holding you in my arms. Not since I first understood the divinity that comes from your touch."

Shiri melted inside.

Whoever this man was, he was not that rude, snappy warrior she'd first met. He was sweet caring, and so incredibly romantic that it should be illegal to unleash all that perfection on one woman. But despite all that, Shiri felt a wall between them.

He said the words, and she knew he meant them, but there was still a part of himself that he wouldn't give to her. A part of himself he kept sealed off and would not her touch. A darkness that he had hidden.

But he had given her part of himself, and that was enough for now.

* * *

><p>"I must say. That man is as warm as a popsicle, but damn, that is one fine butt."<p>

Shiri rolled her eyes.

"You know I can't see it hon." "No. But I'm sure you can feel it. I bet if you asked, he wouldn't mind letting you."

Shiri felt her cheeks flame.

"Tabby!"

"Just saying."

"I can hear everything you say, you know."

Rain came in from the other room, voice less than amused.

"Don't get too excited. Val has a much better butt than you."

Rain scoffed.

"Doubt it."

He crossed the room to stand by the couch where the two of them were sitting.

"Hey," he said softly to her, touching her cheek.

Shiri smiled.

Despite the way Rainier acted with everyone else, he was one of the most affectionate people she knew. He might've been surly and quick-tempered, and had a tongue that could let blood if he chose, but never with her.

It was way past sundown now, and he'd taken her to Valerius's in a car that was so finely tuned that even the engine sounded expensive. And his driving had put Talon's to shame, the way he weaved through traffic and didn't seem to understand that yellow lights meant slow down. But the whole ride, he'd been toying with her fingers. And before that, when they'd been waiting for the sun to set, it was rare that he wasn't touching some part of her—his hand on her waist, his leg hooked around her knee, lips brushing her forehead.

She couldn't quite reconcile the difference between the two sides of Rainier Sainte-Claire.

"Hi," she answered. "Thank you for taking me home."

He cupped her cheek with his palm.

"Anytime chérie. But I have to go now. The daimons will have been out for a while, and I cannot neglect my duties."

She nodded, though she was sad to see him go.

"Au revoir petite étoile," he said.

And then he was gone.


	7. Already Yours

**Rain cursed himself for his stupidity.**

**For the last few hours, he'd let his guards down to the point where, for a moment, he'd forgotten not to care. He'd forgotten the pain of his past.**

**He'd forgotten that love made you weak.**

**No. He wasn't in love with her. Not yet anyway. But the attraction she held for him was unmistakable. He had to be constantly touching her, if not to show his affection then to assure himself that she was still there, than she wasn't going to leave him.**

**There was something about her…**

**Something about her that made him want to open his heart again. Made him want to hold her close and whisper that he would never let her go, that she meant everything to him. **

**He flinched as he realized how much she did mean to him.**

**He'd met Shiri not a month ago, and yet he found himself enamored with her beyond reason. Since he'd first kissed her, he found himself craving her touch to reckless heights. But it wasn't just the physical pleasure he felt, which made a mockery of what he felt with other women, and he'd actually climaxed when he'd been with them, it was the emotional closeness he experienced solely with her.**

"**Bête," he muttered. **

**Yeah, he was an idiot.**

**One who was headed to see the cause of his idiocy right now.**

**Sunshine, sweetheart that she was, had sent Talon to invite him over for dinner along with most of the other ex Dark-Hunters. And while he usually would've told the Celt exactly where he could stick his invitation, he'd accepted because it was another chance to see Shiri. And then, idiot that he was, he'd offered to pick her up.**

"**Shiri?"**

**He knocked on the door to her apartment. It was above Runningwolf's, just like Sunshine's was, or had been. The two of them had been neighbors before Sunshine had traipsed off to the swamp to live with Talon. **

**There was no answer.**

**Frowning, Rain turned the handle. It rotated and the door swung slowly open. He shrugged. Shiri had told him that she'd leave it unlocked for him in case she was busy when he arrived. **

**Stepping inside, Rain closed the door quietly behind himself.**

**Inside the apartment was as light and well…pretty as he' imagined it would be. The walls were paneled wood, painted a tan-brown that gave the room a cabin-like feel. The floors were hardwood that was the same color, as was the ceiling. The furniture was carved of wood—the bureaus, drawers, and desk. The couch was white, as was the shag rug under the coffee table. **

**There were no picture on the walls, no books on the shelves. Everything was placed meticulously, in perfect order. A rail ran around he walls. **

**It was the home of someone who couldn't see.**

**Rain walked into the large room, looking curiously at the things that made up Shiri's life. A door to the left caught his attention, and he looked into the room, smiling as he noticed the black grand piano that dominated the tiny space. There was no music in there either. Just a tape recorder and some speakers.**

**He went back into the main room.**

"**Shiri?" he called again, cocking his head as he heard the sound of water running.**

**He pushed open another door.**

**And froze.**

**Shiri was in the shower, the lightly frosted glass doing nothing to shield her body from his enhanced vision. **

**She was beauty personified.**

**Her tiny body looked even more delicate now, her creamy skin a glowing alabaster. But there was no doubt that she was a woman, and a stunning one at that, with her gently flared hips and breasts that were made to fit his hand. **

**Water streamed over her flawless skin, plastering her hair to her body. When it was wet, it fell in a black curtain to her hips. It curled around her body like it was alive. Gods, how he wanted to bury his hands in that silken mass, feel it brushing his chest as she slid herself onto him.**

**Rain couldn't stop the moan that slid out his throat.**

**He'd never been this hard in his life.**

"**Rain?"**

**Shiri's soft, curious voice wasn't helping. He could imagine what it would feel like to have her crying out his name as she came for him, to have her moaning and writhing in his arms as he gave her unparalleled pleasure. In his dreams, it was ecstasy. He wasn't quite sure he could experience it in real life and stay sane.**

"**Shiri," he acknowledged in the tight voice that was the only thing he could manage without moaning again. "I'll…leave you to your shower."**

**He tore himself from the room.**

"**Gods," he groaned.**

**He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes as another wave of desire so strong it bordered on insanity tore through him. He rubbed his aching erection through his pants, shuddering as he imagined Shiri's hands replacing his. It was enough to make him whimper as he desperately tried to control his need for her.**

**He failed the endeavor.**

**When he heard the water turn off and the bathroom door open, he kept his eyes closed and turned to rest his forehead against the cool wood of the wall.**

"**Dress quickly," he said in a ragged voice.**

"**Rain?"**

**The soft hand that touched his shoulder nearly brought him to his knees with the heat it sent flaring through his already burning body.**

**Unable to help himself, he pulled her into his arms and crushed her lips to his.**

**Rain moaned at how good she tasted. Her unschooled movements only drove him to further heights as he ravished her—nipping, licking, and nibbling until she surrendered her weight to him and wound her arms around his neck.**

**Her towel fell to the floor.**

**Rain swore softly as his hands met the bare skin of her spine.**

"**Ma belle," he whispered against her lips. "Plus belle que tout au monde."**

**He kissed her again as he slid his hands up the slope of her back, memorizing every dip and curve. One arm settled around her waist so he could press her closer. His other hand slipped between them, pressing against her stomach. Slowly, carefully, he trailed upwards until he brushed her breast with his fingers.**

**She shuddered against him. And when she rubbed sensually against him, making soft noises that drove him wild, his hips jerked forward of their own accord. He ground his aching cock against her with a desperation that bordered on madness. **

"**Gods," he moaned, near delirious with pleasure. **

**She was wet. Burning. He used the hand that had been teasing her breast to stroke her core as he gyrated against her. She gasped and arched into his touch. **

"**What are you doing to me?" she panted, writhing against his fingers.**

"**Making love to you."**

**He emphasized his words by pulling his hips back so he could slip a finger inside of her.**

**She cried out wordlessly.**

"**Dieu, you're tight and wet," he groaned.**

**She clenched around his fingers, tightening even more. Just imagining what that would fee like around his shaft brought him dangerously close to releasing. **

**Cursing, he tore away from her long enough to unbutton his pants and free his straining erection. There was something incredibly erotic about having her naked in his arms while he was fully dressed. **

"**Feel what you do to me," he whispered, wrapping her hand around him.**

**She blushed.**

"**Rain-"**

"**Shh, ma petite étoile."**

**He hushed her with a kiss, taking her lips with all the passion he felt raging through his body. **

**He started stroking her again, pumping his finger slowly in and out of her. Shiri writhed and twisted in his arms. When she was sufficiently mindless, he lifted her tiny weight, wrapping her legs around his waist.**

**It was the best and worst decision he'd ever made.**

**The new position had her core cradling his burning erection. Hot, wet silk caressed his straining length. Pleasure ripped through his body. And the drive to climax overtook everything else as he held her waist and ground against her.**

"**I need you," he panted. "I need to be inside of you."**

**She whimpered as he took her breast in his hand again.**

"**Bedroom. Bed," he said between kisses.**

**She pointed down the hallway.**

**Still carrying her, Rain managed to keep their hips, mouths, and virtually every other part of their bodies locked together as he walked towards her room. Once inside, he collapsed onto the bed with her. He kissed her quickly, reluctant to leave her for even a second, but it was necessary.**

**Pulling back, he shed his clothes with hasty carelessness, not really caring where he threw it as it landed on the floor. As soon as he let go of his shirt, he pulled Shiri back to himself, covering her lips with his.**

"**You are gorgeous," he whispered as he kissed his way down to her breasts.**

**He took his time there, tasting, teasing. One hand went back to her core to slide slowly into her body. It was only when she came, crying out his name, that he slowed, trailing back up to her lips.**

"**Rain," she sighed, kissing him fiercely.**

"**Tell me to stop now and I will," he answered in a ragged voice. "But if I go on mon ange, I will not have the self-control or the will to stop."**

**She pulled his mouth back to hers.**

**Rain kissed her wildly, desperately. It was only with her that he ever felt whole, ever felt his past slipping away. And now, in her arms, with her soft body below his, the world finally felt right. A sense of belonging he'd never had flooded him. **

**This was where he was supposed to be.**

**Holding her. Pleasuring her.**

**Loving her.**

"**It's going to hurt," he murmured, touching her jaw.**

**She nodded, pressing her face against his neck. Unwilling to hurt her any more than necessary, Rain stroked her nub until she was twisting wildly beneath him. When she came, he thrust into her fast and deep. At the height of her pleasure, Shiri barely noticed. But Rain…**

**He came as soon as he was inside her.**

**His body shuddered as he cried out her name, thrusting into her until he swore he would die from it. She was still again, holding him as he shook in her arms. When he collapsed against her, he was exhausted, his body completely spent and sated. **

"**Ma belle, ma fleur, mon ange," he whispered in her ear, rolling onto his back so he wouldn't crush her.**

**She lay across his chest, her cheek pillowed against his pectoral. Her eyes were closed as she traced the contours of his stomach with a butterfly touch. He kissed the top of her head.**

**Never in his life had he ever felt so complete and content. The pleasure he felt with Shiri made a mockery out of what he'd called pleasure before. She'd ripped his defenses down with every kiss, every touch. And when he'd come, he'd known he was lost to her.**

**Known that she alone, now held his heart.**

* * *

><p><strong>Rain really didn't want to explain why the two of them were late for dinner.<strong>

**Kyrian's suspicious glare, Tabitha's knowing grin, and Sunshine's openly curious gaze did nothing more than piss him off. So he ignored them, taking Shiri's hand and leading her to the two empty seats at the end of the table. Musetta padded quietly after them and settled at her feet when she sat down.**

"**I'm sorry," Shiri apologized, touching Talon's hand where it rested on the table next to her. "I lost track of time."**

"**Not a problem," Sunshine dismissed with a wave of her hand. "We're just glad you made it. We were worried for a second that Rain ate you."**

**Tabitha snorted.**

"**I was thinking something else altogether, but if you want to go with that, we can go with that."**

"**Tabby!"**

"**What?"**

**Rain promptly ignored them all.**

**He kept his fingers laced through Shiri's under the table, not quite sure why he felt a powerful urge to keep them connected, together. Regardless, he listened to it, stroking his thumb over her delicate fingers. Her skin was delightfully cool against his but nevertheless succeeded in electrifying his senses.**

**And he'd thought earlier would've kept him sated for a while.**

**As if.**

"**So," Amanda said, breaking the silence. "Val, finish your story."**

**Rain watched with interest as Kyrian promptly turned away and started eating again, making it clear he wasn't interested in what his brother-in-law had to say. Without Julian, who was on vacation, Kyrian obviously found these gatherings less interesting. **

**Amanda and Tabitha sat side by side, mirror images as they listened to Valerius. Talon and Sunshine sat quietly, staring at each other with such love in their eyes that it made Rain want to puke. Or punch them. Probably both.**

**Sighing, he turned back to Shiri.**

"**Are you okay?" he asked. "You've been quiet since we left your house."**

"**Just a bit tired. And sore."**

**Rain couldn't help the grin that twisted his lips.**

"**That's normal chérie. Although I am sorry I caused you any pain."**

**He jerked in surprise as she leaned up and kissed the spot below his ear.**

"**I know," she breathed. "That it is normal. I'm not complaining."**

**She smiled shyly and turned back to the table, leaving Rain to drown in emotions he couldn't control. And wasn't sure he wanted to control anymore. **

**There was something about Shiri that broke down his defenses in ways no one else had. Before her, he wouldn't have deigned to sit at a table and have something as mundane as polite conversation if someone had paid him for it. Now he found himself enduring what would undoubtedly be the most boring evening of his life simply because he couldn't find it in himself to leave Shiri's side.**

**He sighed.**

**If he wasn't careful, she'd become more to him than he could afford to let her to be.**

"**Are you okay?" Shiri suddenly asked, silver eyes worried as she touched his lips. "If you want to leave, we can. I don't want you to be uncomfortable."**

**Well too late for could. More like already had in a completely irrevocable way. Having her care like this destroyed any doubts Rain had about the fact that Shiri held part of him, that she had the power to break him. Unable to help himself, be bent and pressed his lips gently to hers.**

"**No, ma belle, I am fine. I just wish we were alone again."**

**He nuzzled her cheek before he pulled away.**

"**I can feel my dinner coming back up," Kyrian gagged.**

**Rain ignored the comment.**

"**I think it's cute," Tabitha said.**

"**You think everything is cute love," Valerius chided. **

"**No. I don't think Kyrian is cute."**

**Talon barked out a laugh.**

"**Shut up Celt," Kyrian snapped. "At least I don't braid my hair."**

**Talon touched the two braids at his temple and shrugged.**

"**If I remember correctly, I attract more women than you."**

"**Watch it hon," Sunshine warned. "I'll make you sleep on the couch."**

**Kyrian gave Talon a shit-eating grin and went back to his food.**

"**Your friends are interesting," Rain murmured.**

**Shiri smiled and nodded.**

"**The boys are as childish as their children sometimes."**

"**Sometimes?"**

"**Well, mostly just Kyrian. And Julian if the two of them are together. Talon and Valerius watch quietly."**

"**You're extremely observant."**

"**My hearing is the sense I depend on most besides touch."**

**Rain frowned.**

"**I hate that you've lost something. Even if you gained something else in return," he said, touching her temple. **

"**I was born blind. It has never bothered me much. Except…"**

**Her lips curved.**

"**When I'm with you. I want to see you, see the perfection I know makes up your face and body. I see you in my dreams and you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen. But then, it's not that that draws me to you."**

**Her brow furrowed.**

"**When I'm with you, I miss my sight. An yet, I don't. When I'm with you, I don't feel outcast and removed as I do with everyone else. You don't judge me for my inability to fend for myself. So when I'm with you, I also don't miss my sight. I am content to be with you as I am."**

**Rain struggled not to show her how much that meant to him.**

"**I am glad petite étoile."**

**He fought the urge to scoop her up and carry her away from here, away from the eyes he could feel watching them. He wanted her alone again, wanted to hold her close again, to lose himself in her touch. Not even an hour had passed since they'd left her apartment, and he already wanted to be back in her, feeling the pleasure only she could bring him.**

"**You're tense again," she said, feeling his muscles coil under her hand.**

"**I want you," he whispered huskily.**

**Her cheeks flushed.**

"**Rain-"**

"**When dinner ends. Come home with me again."**

**She hesitated, and he leaned forward to capture her lips lightly.**

"**Please?" he asked. "I will not take you again, if you don't wish it. I just want to hold you again. To feel your touch."**

**She nodded.**


	8. Dark Angel

"Mm, bonjour chérie."

Rain pulled Shiri's back against his chest and used the tips of his fingers to tilt her chin up so he could capture her mouth with his. He kissed her softly for a moment, nipping at her lips.

"You're in a good mood today," she said when he pulled away.

"Only when I'm with you."

He released her so she could finish putting dishes in the dishwasher.

Shiri heard him sit down on the couch and felt his eyes watching her. The kitchen opened directly to the living room, and she knew from the way her body was reacting that his obsidian gaze was on her.

"You're extremely distracting," she told him. "I'm going to stab myself with a knife if you don't quit making me lose my concentration."

She had to be careful when she was in the kitchen. She couldn't count the number of times she'd cut herself with a knife or dropped a plate that had been too close to the edge of the table or knocked a cup to the floor. Sometimes Sunshine came over and helped her put things away, but she'd learned to just memorize where things were.

"You're being dangerous."

Rain's voice right next to her ear made her jump. It wasn't often that someone could sneak up on her, but Rain had a silent way of moving that was almost ghostly.

"You get used to dangerous when you can't see what you're chopping with a butcher knife," she said lightly.

He took the knife from her hand and set it on the countertop.

"I don't like the thought of you being hurt," he murmured, catching her around the waist and tugging her against his steely body. "It makes me…volatile."

"You worry too much."

"About you? Never."

He bent and kissed her slowly, meltingly. His parted her lips and explored her mouth lazily, making her shiver against him and lace her fingers behind his neck.

"You are very important to me ma fleur," he murmured. I am not sure why, but I do know that I will never allow you to be hurt. No one will touch you."

She smiled against his lips.

"Except you?" "Except me."

He captured her mouth again, his kiss deeper, more seductive. His hands slipped under her shirt to caress her back and waist, thumbs stroking her skin lightly. She could feel his erection against her hip.

"I want you," he breathed. "It baffles me, the way I can never seem to stop wanting you. I have never felt this for any woman before."

"I've never felt like this ever," she answered, weaving her hands into his hair.

He hummed in satisfaction, seeming content to just stand there with his lips pressed against her forehead, his arms around her. At least until Musetta padded into the room and nudged their legs.

"Hi sweetie," Shiri said, stepping away from Rain to kneel next to him.

He thumped his tail seven times.

"I know. I'm almost done."

Seeming pleased, Musetta trotted away.

"What was that about?"

Rain pulled her back to him almost reflexively, like it was instinct to do so.

Shiri warmed to the thought.

"Musetta is my clock," she replied, amused. "He uses his tail to tell me the time. It's about seven right now, right?"

"On the dot."

"It's how I keep track of time." "What happens at seven?"

"I play piano."

She smiled.

"Muse likes to listen."

"I can imagine."

"What?"

"I heard you playing that first night. It's what got me to go inside. You play beautifully."

She blushed.

"It's what I do to occupy my time," she said, closing the dishwasher and turning it on.

She reached for Rain's hand, loving the way he lifted their twined fingers so he could brush a kiss on her knuckles.

"Would you play for me?" he murmured against her skin.

"What?"

"Can I stay and listen to you play piano?"

She answered him by leading him to the small room that held her piano, using the railings on the wall to guide her. When she was inside, she sat down on the piano bench, scooting to make room for him. Rain sat on the very edge, leaving her enough room to move her arms, while Muse slipped through the door and settled in the corner.

Shiri placed her fingers on the keys.

She started slowly, playing a few Bach Inventions and some Minuets. When she felt like her fingers were warmed up enough, she drifted in the fast-paced piece she'd played at Grace's birthday. The powerful chords and rapid breaks wove around them in a harmony that managed to sound dissonant and melodic at the same time. When the last note came to an end, she flowed into another song, one she'd written for Tabitha and Valerius's wedding.

She played through a few more songs, before she felt the melody changing without her quite realizing. It slowed, becoming achingly sweet. Her fingers drifted gracefully over the keys. She closed her eyes.

She'd written the song for Rain.

He seemed to know it too, and he placed his arms delicately around her waist, careful to not interfere with her playing. He barely seemed to be breathing, his body immobile next to hers.

Shiri let her voice join the piano.

_I will hold you forever, my warrior prince,_

_Through the ice of the winter, through the fires of hell._

_I will love you forever, my warrior prince,_

_Not even in death, will I bid thee farewell._

_My soul is yours, knight of my heart,_

_Only with you, am I not alone._

_My love is yours, knight of my heart,_

_Only with you, am I truly home._

_My saving grace, my fierce dark angel,_

_For you alone, does my spirit long._

_Light of my life, my fierce dark angel,_

_You are my muse, my melody, my song._

Her voice died slowly as her fingers glided to a stop. She let her hands slip from the keys and fold into her lap.

Rain was immobile, his face buried against her neck.

"Angel?" she asked, touching his forearm.

"You have destroyed me," he whispered. "You have destroyed my resistance. Any doubt I harbored."

He took her hand and laid it over his heart.

"My heart now beats for you and you alone," he said raggedly.

She shook.

"Rain-"

He silenced her with a kiss. It was fierce, desperate, needing. He pulled her onto his lap and held her like he thought she'd disappear at any second. It was different than last time. He wasn't as gentle, but it was like he couldn't help it.

"Gods, how I need you," he panted. "How you took my heart and made it yours, I'm not sure. I only know that it is well and truly yours."

He trailed kisses from her lips to her neck, taking time to nip and tease her skin. When he bit lightly at the hollow of her throat, she moaned.

"You're sensitive there," he said, kissing his way across her shoulder. "I will have to remember that."

He nibbled her skin, frowning when he reached the edge of her dress. With a low growl, he tore through the strap with his fangs.

"Rain!"

"I need you too much to be patient mon coeur."

But despite his words, he pulled her dress slowly from her body, kissing and licking every inch of flesh he bared. Shiri was dimly aware of Musetta leaving the room, vaguely conscience of the fact that Rain left her long enough to shut the door. But then he returned to pleasuring her and all she could do was writhe in his arms. . When he knelt between her legs and took her into his mouth, she cried out.

"Come for me chérie," he breathed, teasing her clit with his tongue.

Shiri shook as pleasure spiraled through her body, winding the coil in her stomach tighter and tighter. And when she came, ecstasy so intense it burned flooded her. She nearly screamed from the force of it, Rain's name wrenching itself from her lips.

"I love it when you say my name," he murmured, kissing his way back to her lips.

He ravaged her mouth until she was burning again, aching for him. Impatient, she slid her hands under the hem of his shirt, splaying her fingers over his abdomen. Laughing low in his throat, Rain shrugged out of his jacket and threw it on the floor, his shirt following quickly after. Now free to explore his bared torso, Shiri placed her hands on his chest.

She traced his pectorals, the hard ridges of his stomach. And when her hands dipped to the waistband of his jeans, he groaned. She undid the button of his pants, sliding down the zipper slowly. Rain trembled as she touched him, and when the tension overwhelmed him, he snapped and shoved his jeans below his hips, freeing himself.

He pulled Shiri over his legs, so she was straddling his waist while sitting on his lap. He was hot and hard against her, making her shiver as he rubbed against her. Hesitantly, she stroked him with the tips of her fingers and was rewarded by his sharp intake of breath. He rocked slowly into her hand, breathing becoming more labored.

Suddenly though, he stopped.

"I will not last if you keep that up," he said, pulling her hand away from him.

He went back to teasing the hollow of her throat while he somehow managed to get his jeans off completely without standing up. Shiri sighed in pleasure as she felt his bare skin beneath hers. His muscles were steely, coiled with tension as she ran her hands over his shoulders and back. She traced the scars that laced his skin, bending to kiss the one on his jaw.

He trembled beneath her touch.

He slid his hands to her waist, lifting her up. Kissing her quickly, he slid himself into her body.

Shiri heard him moan as she settled back onto his lap, taking him completely into herself. He was incredibly large and hard, burning. Pleasure spiked through her. She rocked experimentally against him, and Rain arched his hips into hers.

"You're killing me petite fleur," he panted, burying his face in her shoulder. "I have not been in you for a minute and already I am dangerously close to releasing."

Wanting to please him, Shiri began to move. She knelt on the bench, keeping him in her as she straddled him. She rode him slowly, unfamiliar with what she was doing. But she used Rain's tortured groans to guide her. The fire in her burned higher and hotter. She clenched around him, and was surprised when his hips jerked against hers.

"Gods," he gasped, shuddering.

Shiri smiled a very feminine smile.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him, licking at the seam of his lips until he parted them. She rode him faster now, her body more sure of what it was doing. And when she felt Rain start to tremble under her, she constricted her muscles, clamping down tightly as she took his full length into her.

Rain flew apart, grabbing her hips and thrusting deep and hard into her as he came. His orgasm triggered hers and she cried out again as she came, the feel of him releasing deep into her body driving her pleasure.

She collapsed against him.

"Mon amour," he whispered, stroking his hair. "Mon cher amour."

He kissed her forehead.

"I love you," he breathed.

Shiri knew her answer without thinking. Taking his hand in hers, she kissed his palm.

"I love you Rainier Sainte-Claire," she murmured, putting his hand over her heart. "My heart is yours. Now and forever."

* * *

><p>"I'm fine. Really angel."<p>

Shiri reached to smooth the frown lines from Rain's face.

"I just have a headache."

"For three days?" he asked doubtfully.

"It's the daimons. They never go away, so the headache never does."

"It's worse now that normal. It has to be. When you are with me, I know that the ache usually disappears. For you to feel it like this means that something is wrong."

Shiri sighed. There was no use trying to get around Rain. He saw through her in a way that no one ever did. He'd noticed when she started moving slower, sitting down more often, rubbing her temples to alleviate the pressure. He was worried.

Right now, he lay on his bed with her curled against his side, head nestled in the dip of his shoulder. Her cheek lay against his bare skin and she traced patterns onto his stomach.

"It'll be fine," she said. "I just keep sensing something dark coming."

"Chérie-"

"I just need to take my mind off things."

"Would you like me to distract you?"

He led her hand to her jeans, so she could feel exactly what he meant.

"Rain!"

"It was just a suggestion."

He sounded amused.

"If that is not the distraction you wish for…"

"Tell me a story."

"Of what?"

"How did you become a Dark-Hunter?"

He went still under her.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to ask you something you didn't want to answer."

"No, it's fine. It's just…I try not to dwell on the past."

He sighed and tucked her head under his chin, stroking her bare back.

"I was born in 746 in what is now France. My mother was a noblewoman, my father I never knew. But they were not married, and the bastard son of an aristocrat was not tolerated then. I was thrown to the streets as soon as my mother was free of me. She told the midwife to leave me to the wolves."

Shiri sucked in a sharp breath, taking his hand so she could lace their fingers together.

"The midwife couldn't find it in herself to kill a helpless babe, so she left me in the care of the first family she found. She put me on their doorstep. When the people who lived there found me the next day, they took me in. Or should I say, the woman took me in. Her husband hated me from the moment he saw me. An when his wife died when I was seven, he took out his pain and grief on the child she'd left him. Me."

His voice was flat, distant as he spoke. The only sign that this pained him was the uneven beating of his heart and the tightening of his fingers around hers.

"I grew up a scapegoat, taking the blame for anything and everything that upset him. I still have the scars."

He placed their joined hands over the ragged scar that sliced across his stomach.

"And then, when I was thirteen, he threw me to the Frankish army. I lived my adolescence among soldiers and generals, learning to stay in line or suffer whatever beating the deemed proper for me. I fought in battles I hated, fought for causes that I didn't understand. But when Charlemagne said to fought, we fought. And when he told us to invade the Saxon lands in 772, we went without question. I went as well, though I was to leave the army, and I would after the war."

His voice dropped lower.

"In 775, we attacked their fort Sigiburg at Westphalia. We lost many men to their forces, but in the end, they fell. We raided their city, killing all we saw. Until I stumbled across a young woman who cradled an infant in her arms."

He took a deep steadying breath before he went on.

"After all my years as a soldier, I couldn't find it in me to kill an innocent woman and her newborn child. So I hid them, shielded them from the rest of the army. And when the battle ended, I took them with me when I left the army. My commanders knew nothing. They were busy following Charlemagne as he pushed farther into Saxony. So I smuggled the woman and her child back home. To this day I can not understand why I did it. Perhaps it was because she was so alone like me. I knew what it felt like to be alone, with no one to protect you or to care for you. Maybe it was because I knew what abandonment felt like, what growing up an outcast was like. I wouldn't wish that on any child. But whatever I thought, I took that girl home with me and gave her a room in the house I'd built."

His voice turned dark.

"I did not love her. I know that now, and I knew that then. But I became quite fond of her. She was five years younger than me, and sweet as a dove. Her child's first word was my name. I let the two of them into my heart bit by bit, until I considered her a younger sister."

He laughed humorlessly.

"I was a fool. I came home one day to find soldiers in my house. Saxons. They were survivors from Sigiburg, part of her family. I should have left then, ran, but I told myself that they would have no reason to hurt the man who had shielded their kin. And in the end, it was the woman I took into my home that told them I was a kidnapper and a rapist. I had never laid a finger on her, and yet she told them I'd stolen her from the walls of Sigiburg and dragged her back to Frankish territory. She told them I kept her locked up and abused her, using her for sex whenever I felt like it. She told them she hated me."

He broke off, sounding pained.

"They took me back to Saxony with them. Or what was left of it. In the four months I'd been away from the army, Charlemagne had taken much of their country. I was taken to a small camp in what is now western Germany. They locked me up as a prisoner, and treated me much worse. They had no use for my word against that girl's, and I was as good as filth to them."

He paused.

"I will not pain you with telling you what they did to me," he said quietly. "I will only tell you that of all the scars that line my body, only a handful are ones I gained after my death."

Shiri shuddered against him. There were dozens of scars that crisscrossed his tawny skin. They sliced across his chest and stomach, covered his hips and back. They twined his arms and legs and some even lined his jaw and cheekbone.

"I was their prisoner for a month," he continued, voice toneless. "And in the end, it was the girl who killed me. She spat in my face as she ended my life."

He led her hand to the scar that ringed his neck, the slash that cut across his throat.

"Artemis heard my soul as I died. Blinded by anger, I accepted her offer and sold her my soul for revenge. I returned and killed every one of the Saxons in that camp. And then I resigned myself to an eternity to reflect on my actions and feel guilt consume me as I realized what I'd done."

He turned his face away.

"That is my story mon amour."

Shiri lay still for a moment before she lifted their joined fingers and kissed his palm. She traced every scar on his hand with her lips and tongue, pausing as she kissed the pulse beating softly on the inside of his wrist.

"So much pain," she whispered, touching his cheek. "So alone."

"I have walked this earth alone for centuries. I had accepted that. And then I met a beautiful siren who has enchanted me with her song."

He kissed her tenderly.

"And both I and my love are well and truly hers."


	9. My Muse

"**Joyeaux anniversaire mon amour."**

**Shiri smiled, taking the white roses Rain held for her. She lifted them to her nose and sniffed them delicately, running her fingers over the waxy petals.**

"**Thank you angel," she said, leaning over to kiss him softly.**

"**Psh. Flowers again."**

**Kyrian walked over holding a small silver box.**

**Unable to stop the reaction, Rain lifted a lip and growled as he bared his fangs. Reflexively, he tugged Shiri behind himself, shielding her from view.**

"**Easy Frenchie. I'm not going to hurt her. Come to think of it, it should be the other way around. I've known her way longer than you."**

**Rain let the tension slip from his muscles and stepped aside as Shiri hugged Kyrian and kissed his cheek. She accepted his present and opened it carefully, like she was afraid whatever inside it would jump out and eat her.**

"**It's not a live is it?" she asked. **

"**Nope."**

"**Is it sharp and pointy?"**

"**Nope."**

"**Is it dangerous?"**

"**Maybe."**

**Shiri sighed and took the lid off the box, reaching inside.**

"**Oh," she gasped.**

**Rain leapt forward, but she stopped him with a delighted look.**

"**It's beautiful Kyrian," she breathed, pulling the object out of the box.**

**It was a bracelet. The delicate links were carved to look like flowered vines that shimmered as they caught the light. Smiling in a very satisfied manner, Kyrian took the bracelet and put it around her wrist, sealing the clasp with surprisingly nimble fingers.**

"**It's spelled," he told her when he was done. "So long as you wear it, Amanda or I will be able to find you if you need us. If you're in danger, we'll feel it."**

**Shiri hugged him tightly, fingering the chain that now encircled her left wrist.**

"**Thank you," she said.**

"**Anytime four-eyes."**

**Rain watched in interest as Shiri's cheeks flushed. She smacked Kyrian reproachfully on the arm and mumbled something that sounded like "shut up". Raising an eyebrow, Rain pulled her back against him and tucked her head under his chin so he could cradle her to his chest.**

"**Old nickname," Kyrian explained. "She used to wear glasses."**

"**What?"**

"**When she was ten, she waned to be 'normal' so badly that she wore glasses to make people think she could see."**

"**And look how normal I turned out to be," Shiri said dryly. "My best friends are crazy vampire-hunters, and I'm a crazy vampire-magnet."**

"**I happen to be perfectly sane, thank you very much," Kyrian sniffed.**

**Rain snorted.**

"**Uh huh."**

**He pulled Shiri away from an irate Kyrian and pulled her deeper through his apartment. He'd gladly offered her his flat for the party her friends had insisted she have, and now he had actually guests over. **

**It was enough to make him laugh and groan at the same time.**

"**I must really love you," he murmured amusedly to her. "I'm a lone Dark-Hunter who only hates only one thing more than being alone, and that's having company. And here I am throwing a party just for you."**

**He nuzzled her cheek.**

"**Mm, thank you angel," she answered, brushing a light kiss on his lips.**

"**Aw, aren't they cute?" **

**Rain tried not to roll his eyes at Tabitha and failed. Miserably.**

"**Happy birthday hon," she said, hugging Shiri though Rain didn't remove his arm from around her waist. "I might not like him much, but I have to admit that your boyfriend has a snazzy house."**

"**It's an empty room made of concrete," Valerius pointed out haughtily, his normal flat expression firmly in place.**

"**There's a couch," Tabitha mediated. "And a closet full of weapons."**

**She sounded pleased about that.**

"**There's a bed in the other room too," Julian added as he passed by. "And I could swear the sheets were wrinkled."**

**He waggled his eyebrows and tapped Shiri nose before he went to stop Niklos from stabbing himself with one of Rain's daggers.**

"**You didn't think to lock all the pointy, sharp, deadly, and otherwise not-child appropriate things up before we brought over kids?" Tabitha exclaimed, disappearing to find Valerian.**

"**Oops," Rain said to a frowning Valerius as the Roman went to find his family. "I was busy before."**

"**Doing what I wonder?" Julian asked suggestively as he passed by again, this time holding Niklos. **

**Shiri flushed again.**

"**I can't imagine why you're embarrassed," Rain said, smiling as they walked around greeting people again. "They happen to be very right about the things we were doing before they got here fleur."**

**His smile turned wicked as he nipped her temple.**

"**Things I would very much like to get back to as soon as everybody leaves."**

"**You're incorrigible."**

**He kissed her cheek.**

"**I endeavor to be anyway."**

* * *

><p>"<strong>I am glad you saw your friends, but I am also glad they're gone," Rain murmured.<strong>

**Their guests had left hours ago, and from the moment the door had closed behind them to say…now, Rain had had the two of them in bed doing exactly what Julian had accused them of. Right now Shiri lay on her back, stroking his hair while he was on his front with his arms around her waist and his cheek resting on her stomach. He kissed her hip, marveling at the softness of her body under his as she toyed with the silver and diamond stud in his left ear. **

"**Chère," he sighed, for once in his life perfectly content and happy with where he was. **

"**Angel," she answered back.**

**He nipped her skin.**

"**Why do you call me that?"**

"**Because you truly are my angel."**

**She smiled so sweetly at him that he felt his heart melt all over again.**

"**How I wish I could see in myself what you do," he said, nuzzling his way up her body until he cradled her face between his hands.**

**He bent so he could press his lips to her forehead.**

"**You are unspeakably precious to me," he whispered against her skin. "There are no words for what you mean to me."**

"**You are everything to me," she answered simply, sliding her arms around his neck. **

**Wrapping both legs around his waist, Shiri nipped Rain's shoulder until he rolled over, letting her straddle him. He could barely breathe at the sight of her on top of him, her hair unbound in a silken wave that caressed her alabaster skin. Her sightless eyes glowed molten silver with passion and she was still flushed from his lovemaking. **

"**You are beautiful," she breathed, tracing his body with her sensitive fingertips.**

**Rain struggled to lie still as she leaned over to kiss the scars that marred every inch of his skin. His hands gripped the sheets tightly, his hips aching to arch into the cradle of hers. Her lips spread fire wherever they went as they blazed a path across his chest and shoulders while her hands toyed with his hipbones.**

"**Careful petite étoile," he eased, taking both her hands in his so he could kiss her knuckles. "I am dangerously close to taking you again."**

**She smiled at his words.**

"**No. I don't believe that would agree with me."**

**Her smile became more pronounced as she bent down to nip his ear.**

"**I would much rather take you instead."**

**Rain sucked in a sharp breath at her low, breathy voice. She was a fiery and passionate lover, of that there was no doubt. She made his head spin with want and desire and damn near killed him every time she coaxed an orgasm out of him, which wasn't hard to do considering he couldn't last more than a few minutes in her without climaxing so hard it could bring him to his knees if they were standing. **

**And yet, there was something different in her as he looked at her now. The purely feminine seductiveness on her face made his body burn in anticipation. He was already painfully erect despite the fact that he'd come not more than twenty minutes ago, and aching to inside the silken heat of her body.**

"**Do with me what you will," he said raggedly, letting his hands rest at his sides.**

**Her hands slipped into his hair as she kissed him slowly, languidly. He groaned at how good she tasted. She slipped away from his mouth to kiss his throat and tenderly traced the wound that had ended his life with the tip of her tongue.**

**Rain trembled at the gentleness of her touch.**

**She moved further down, skimming lightly over his chest and stomach before reaching his hips. She nibbled his hipbone, and he hissed in pleasure.**

"**Mm, I think I found your sensitive spot," she near-purred as she teased his skin with her teeth.**

"**When I'm with you, all of me is sensitive. It's a wonder I don't explode every time you touch me fleur."**

**She laughed quietly.**

**While she kissed her way across to his other hip, Shiri let her fingers toy with the crisp hairs at the center of his body. When she touched him hesitantly, his hips jerked. He felt her lips curve into a smile against his skin as she stroked him, and he rocked into her hand, unable to control his movements as pleasure spiked through him.**

**When she took him into her mouth, he growled, hips arching in a silent plea. **

**Rain cradled her head to him as she did for him what he'd never allowed any other woman to do. His lovers over the centuries had been people whose names he hadn't even bothered learning. He certainly hadn't let them touch him any more than necessary and had usually walked off as soon as he'd made sure they'd both climaxed. **

**But Shiri was different.**

**She cared about his pleasure as well as hers, and her willingness to give to him was killing him softly. Her lips and tongue on him were enough to drive him mindless as she kissed and nibbled him until he could barely breathe. **

"**Please love," he gasped as he pulled her gently away from him. "I will not last much longer."**

"**That was my intention," she said, cocking her head to the side. "To drive you mindless."**

"**You succeeded very well mon coeur."**

**He sat up to nuzzle her neck.**

"**But I want to finish inside you amour," he whispered in her ear. "I want to feel your pleasure more than I wish to feel my own."**

**He lay back down and forced his hands to his sides again, so he could watch her.**

**Shiri lifted her hips and slid his burning erection into her body. They moaned in unison as the feeing tore through their bodies and sent pleasure wracking through them. She reached for his hands and laced their fingers together as she started to ride him slowly. **

"**And I though it was bad before," Rain groaned, closing his eyes and savoring the feel of her body welcoming his. "I am ready to lose myself already."**

**Shiri's breathing picked up at his words and her strokes became quicker, more urgent. Rain lifted his hips in time to hers as he met her stroke for stroke and slid himself completely into her with every delectable thrust. **

**It wasn't long before Shiri flew apart, crying out as she collapsed on top of him. She clamped around his shaft, hard, and Rain cursed. His control finally breaking, he grabbed her and flipped, cradling her under him as he thrust desperately into her spasming body.**

**Her name was torn from his lips as he came.**

**Waves of ecstasy ripped him apart as he shuddered in her arms. He buried his face against her neck and surrendered himself to his orgasm as Shiri held him gently and stroked his hair. When he came back down from his high, he was breathless, weak. His body was trembling from exhaustion, and he felt both weak and sated.**

**And happier that he'd ever been in his life.**


	10. Musetta

"She'll be fine. She just needs to rest a bit."

Shiri listened to the sound of Grace's voice outside her bedroom door as she spoke to Rain.

"She collapsed in the middle of-"

"She's mentally exhausted Rain."

There was a brief pause.

"Is she…" Julian hesitated.

"The headaches are worse now," Rain confirmed in a low, pained voice. "Even I can't dampen them anymore. I can touch her mind and try and draw some of her pain into myself, but I'm not Talon. My gift is not for healing people, it's for driving them momentarily crazy while I kill them."

"Does she still have strange dreams?" Grace asked in her psychologist-voice.

"No. I spoke to Acheron, and I was right when I thought he knew why they happened. The Fates destined us for each other just as they do with the Weres. The dreams stopped once we found each other."

"Then I can't imagine what's causing her this pain. Amanda and Tabitha have both told me that nothing like this is bothering them, and their powers are stronger than Shiri's. She can only sense daimons, and the streets have been as normal as ever."

"Well whatever it is, it's wearing her out," Julian pointed out.

"I've noticed," Rain snapped.

"Easy. We're just trying to help."

Shiri rolled over and buried her face in Musetta's fur, not wanting to hear anything else.

She knew that whatever was causing her headaches was getting closer. The pain in her head was constant now, aching and throbbing even though Rain was never away from her for more than an hour or two at a time. She was tired in the bone-deep way that made most people simply give up on life.

She struggled to stay calm.

"I'm scared Muse," she whispered, stroking his side. "What's happening to me?"

* * *

><p>"Hi Acheron," Shiri said, sitting up in bed despite Rain's protests.<p>

"Hey four-eyes."

She stuck her tongue out at him in a childish show that made Acheron laugh.

"I'm glad to see the headache hasn't dampened your sense of humor."

"I'm glad to see being an old fogy hasn't dampened your sense of humor."

Ash laughed again as he sat down on the chair by her bed.

"So what's wrong with you?"

"Headache. Daimons keep showing up to eat me. The normal."

"Five daimons in one night," Rain said flatly. "Talon and Kyrian are outside."

"Yeah, I passed them on my way in."

Acheron frowned as he picked up Shiri's hand. She was thinner than before, if it was possible. Her cheeks were more prominent, her wrists so delicate looking it looked like they would snap if he moved wrong.

Shiri pulled back.

"I'm fine Ash," she said.

"I can see that."

He turned to Rain.

"What's really going on?"

"She sleeps seventeen, twenty hours a day. Doesn't really get out of bed even if she's awake. I have to practically force-feed her, and she doesn't like going into the sun any more than I do now."

"It's irritating," Shiri muttered. "And I would appreciate it if you two would not talk about me like I'm not right here."

"Sorry mon coeur, mais…I can't stand seeing you like this."

Rain sat on the bed next to her and she curled up against his chest.

"Please Acheron," he said in a low voice that made it obvious he didn't often ask for help.

Acheron gave him a sympathetic look that made him wince.

"I can't see her future Rain. I've known her for sixteen years. She's very close to me and I am not allowed to see the futures of those who I care for."

"Merde," Rain cursed.

Shiri sat up so she could lay her palm on his cheek and kiss the frown off his face.

"I'm fine angel. Promise."

"No you're not," he contradicted, framing her face carefully between his hands. "You sleep the day away sometimes, and it still doesn't seem to help you. You're not eating and you're losing weight."

"Chalk it up to that time of month."

He pressed his lips together into a thin line.

"It's been going on for months fleur. Somehow I don't think this is nature's call to women."

He tucked her under his chin again.

"I'm sorry for bothering you Ash," he said quietly.

"No, I'm worried too."

Ash reached out to touch her forehead, frowning again.

"You don't look so hot four-eyes."

"Actually, I have a fever again. So I'm pretty sure I am."

Ash sighed and patted her cheek.

"Hang in their hon. I'll see what I can do."

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry chérie," Rain breathed, stroking Shiri's hair as she buried her face against his chest and sobbed. "Oh, étoile, je suis désolé. Si je pourrais, je le corrigerais."<p>

Shiri couldn't breathe as pain consumed her. Her heart ached from where Musetta had been torn out of it, and nothing except her beloved companion was going to be able to fill it.

And now he couldn't.

"Why?" Shiri whispered brokenly.

"Je ne sais pas mon amour. Je ne sais pas."

Rain's agitated French told Shiri how disturbed over this Rain was as well. Whenever he got upset, he had a habit of reverting back to his native tongue.

"He didn't even die normally," Shiri shuddered. "He-"

She broke off, unable to bring herself to relive how Musetta had died, though she was unable to stop the images from replaying in her head anyway.

She'd forced herself out of bed, more for Rain's sake than hers, and walked around for a bit. She knew his apartment just as well as she knew hers now, and she'd needed no guidance, which was why she hadn't noticed Musetta's absence for a while. Besides, he'd been acting funny too recently and she'd figured he'd decided to rest.

And then she'd found him.

She'd heard his whine first, and ran to find him where he lay on the floor by the steps that led down to the garage. She'd knelt next to him and pulled his head into her lap. Where he'd laid unmoving.

As his body seemed to age by the second.

Though she could see nothing, Shiri had felt the changes in Musetta's body. His thick, silky fur had thinned and roughened under her fingertips. The muscle that had always lined his sleek body had atrophied until he could barely move. And worse had been his breathing as his panting whines had slowly disappeared into nothing. He'd licked her wrist.

And died in her arms.

"Why?" she whispered again.

Rain's body tensed around hers and she felt him reach for the phone that seemed to be permanently attached to his belt. He pulled it out and dialed someone's number.

"Acheron," he said when the other person picked up.

Shiri listened to the buzz of Ash's voice on the line.

"Yeah. We need you-"

He stopped as Ash's voice appeared right next to them.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Shiri couldn't quite bring herself to say the words, so she let Rain do the talking.

"Musetta is dead," he said softly.

Ash cursed.

"What?"

"A few minutes ago. He-"

Even Rain seemed unable to say the words.

"He's through there," he finally murmured.

Ash disappeared. Shiri heard him curse again from the other room before he popped back into the bedroom.

"Damn," he muttered, before looking up at them. "Shiri, how old was Musetta when you got him?"

"Ten. I remember being ecstatic because I…I finally had a friend my age. He is…was…nine months older than me."

Rain tightened his grip on her as Ash muttered something unintelligible.

"You've had him for sixteen years, right?"

"Yes. I always wondered how he stayed alive so long."

"He's spelled. He was supposed to live as long as you. Although there was supposed to be a catch in there somewh-"

Ash broke off in a horrified gasp.

"Acheron?" Rain asked, alarmed. "What's the catch?"

But Ash was already gone.

* * *

><p>Rain wouldn't leave her side.<p>

He'd called Jean-Luc and Zoe and the two of them were covering his part of the city as well. He sat leaning against the headboard of the bed, stroking her hair as she lay with her head in his lap. His other hand was laced tightly with hers and he kissed the back of her knuckles.

"What's going on?" Shiri asked, shivering. "Ash is scaring me."

"He's scaring all of us amour."

"Yeah, well things are about to get a lot scarier."

Shiri yelped as Rain jerked away from her so fast that she knew his movements would be blurred. Her head hit the pillow as a snarl ripped its way out of his chest, darkening the air around them with his anger.

"Angel?" she asked. "What is it?"

"Merde. J'ai pensé que vous étiez plus intelligents que ce. Sacre bleu, pourquoi avez-vous amener le bâtard ici?"

Shiri felt her eyes widen. She hardly spoke enough French to be considered fluent, and most of what Rain had said had made no sense to her, considering he was speaking so fast she doubted she wouldn't understood him if he'd been speaking English. Nevertheless, the fury in his voice was so potent it was almost tangible, and she'd been able to pick out quite a few curses in his tirade.

"Angel?" she repeated. "What's going on?"

"Tes copains ont amené un daimon ici."

He practically spit the words "tes copains", but she knew the anger wasn't directed at her. It was for Kyrian and Julian, who she could hear shifting their weight from foot to foot. And now that she concentrated, Shiri could feel the extra ache in her head that told her daimons were close.

"I'm not a daimon you idiot," the unknown voice that had spoken before said irritably. "I'm an apollite."

"C'est la même chose."

"Easy Rain," Julian placated at the same time Kyrian did.

"Tais-toi," Rain snapped back. "Vous avez amené un daimon ici quand vous saviez que Shiri était ici aussi. Sauf si vous me donner une bonne raison de faire autrement, je vais vous tuer après que j'ai transformer votre animal dedans poudre."

Shiri forced her body to comply as she sat up in bed.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Kyri? Why did you bring an apollite here?"

"You know we can't kill those who haven't taken souls. It was either let the little bastard skip up here on his own or we escorted him."

"We should've staked him and left him for the sun anyway," Julian muttered.

"I'm going to stake all of you when this is over," Rain growled, calming enough to revert back to English. "What does blondie want anyway?"

"I happen to be blonde," Kyrian grumbled before Julian elbowed him to shut up.

"What do you want?" Rain repeated, this time addressing the apollite directly.

"Certainly not to talk to you, you overbearing puff ball. It's the girl I want."

Shiri winced as the apollite stepped closer and her headache increased.

"Take a step closer to her and I'll rip out your throat. Consequences be damned," Rain hissed.

Shiri felt the apollite take a step back at the same time she felt its eyes fix on her.

She swallowed as her senses picked up something dark, foreboding.

"Why do you need to talk to me?" she asked in as calm a voice she could muster. "Who are you."

"My name is Khareus. Your name is Tragoúdi."

"My name is Shiri."

"No. The name your mother gave you was Tragoúdi. The name our mother gave you was Tragoúdi…you are my elder sister."


	11. Anything

"**I can't lose her Ash."**

**Rain's voice was agonized as he spoke.**

**He shuddered as he remembered the last twenty-four hours.**

**After the apollite had told them all that Shiri was his sister, they'd promptly locked him up and called Ash.**

**Who had gravely told them that the apollite was telling the truth.**

**The reason he'd panicked when he'd seen Musetta's body and flashed out as soon as Shiri had answered his questions…it was because he'd suspected Shiri was apollite as well. At least partly.**

**She'd been born to an apollite father and a mother who was a nymph. The nymph-half of her had been dominant, allowing her to have her black-bronze hair, silver eyes, and tiny body. It was why she'd been able to step out in sunlight though she never tanned. But her apollite half…it was why she felt the draw to and could locate other apollites—and daimons. **

**Her father had died before she'd turned four, and her mother had abandoned her. Even Khareus didn't know who her mother was, though it wasn't surprising. He was a full-blood. His mother had been apollite as well. But Shiri, a hybrid that no one in the apollite community had wanted, had been tossed into a orphanage until Talon and Ash had found her. They'd discovered her gifts too, not knowing the past behind them. Ash had given her a guardian. **

**And Musetta's life had been bound to hers.**

**The two of them were supposed to have lived to be exactly the same age, and Musetta was nine months older than her. He'd turned twenty-seven the day he died. And he'd died the way apollites who refused to go daimon did—slowly, painfully, and horrifyingly.**

**Which meant Shiri had nine months left to live.**

"**I can't do anything Rain," Ash answered helplessly. "It is her fate to die. I cannot change what the Sisters have decided for her."**

"**Damn it Ash-"**

"**I love her too Rain. But there is no way to save her without her going daimon. And you know she won't hurt someone to save herself."**

**Rain winced. Shiri had collapsed, exhausted into bed after Ash had explained to her what she was, what he'd discovered once he'd left them earlier. She'd been asleep for almost a day now and showed no signs of waking up, even when he touched her mind with his.**

"**She's protecting herself," Ash said quietly, sensing his thoughts.**

"**Get out of my head," Rain snapped.**

"**I'm not trying to read your thoughts. But you're so loud right now it'd be impossible not to hear what you're thinking."**

**The anger fell out of Rain's voice. "Please Ash. I'm willing to do anything."**

**Acheron's silence made Rain collapse back against the wall, pain wracking his body. **

**He'd gone through life alone since the moment of his birth. He'd learned to never like or need anything, learned that the only way to live was on his own. And now that he'd found the one person he couldn't live without, she was going to die in less than a year.**

"**Damnez-vous Fates," he whispered. "La seule personne que j'aime, la femme que je voulais passer l'éternité avec…"**

**He broke off in a humorless laugh.**

"**Je suis vraiment maudit, non?" he asked darkly as he sobered. "Bien que pourquoi elle doit souffrir ma punition, je ne comprends pas. Si je pouvais prendre sa place, je le ferias volontiers."**

**Ash paused at that.**

"**You really would take her place if you could?"**

**Rain jerked upright at the first hint of hope in Ash's voice all night. **

"**I would do anything for her Ash."**

"**Are you sure?"**

"**Yes damn it. I would walk through hell for her."**

**Ash sighed.**

"**Well then I'll see what I can do."**

**He flashed out of the room.**

* * *

><p>"<strong>I don't like seeing you so upset," Shiri murmured, brushing Rain's hair back from his forehead as he pressed his face against her neck and inhaled her scent raggedly. <strong>

**Rain didn't answer, just kissed her throat and tightened his grip on her.**

**Ash had been gone for more than a week, and Rain had been getting more agitated every day. He knew he was completely disregarding his responsibilities as a Dark-Hunter, but he couldn't bring himself to leave Shiri's side for more than a few minutes at a time. **

**He'd expected to have eternity with her.**

**Now he had less than a year.**

"**I can't lose you," he whispered against her skin. "I can't."**

**The words were broken, desperate as he crushed her gently to him. **

"**I can't."**

* * *

><p><strong>She was even worse.<strong>

**When he'd called Ash, Rain had got a ten second explanation about how the two halves of her were fighting for dominance. Her body couldn't handle the nymph and apollite inside it at the same time and it was shutting down. If it continued like this, she wouldn't even have to wait until she was twenty-seven before Hades took her.**

"**Merde. Ash, où es-tu?"**

"**Right here. And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop spewing curses at me in French."**

**Ash appeared behind him, dressed as normal like a Goth teenager. Only now, he had two people with him.**

"**Artemis?" Rain asked, shocked. **

"**Charmed. I'm sure."**

"**I'm assuming the blondie is-"**

"**Apollo. Her idiot of a brother."**

**The god growled.**

"**Watch it Acheron. I don't have to be here-"**

"**Yeah. You do. Shiri is the daughter of one of your nymphs."**

"**So?"**

"**So help her or I'll blast your ass through a wall."**

**Apollo shut up.**

"**What are they here for?" Rain asked warily, backing slowly to hover over Shiri's sleeping body.**

"**Easy Rain. They're here to take you up on your offer?"**

"**What?"**

"**Unless you were lying when you said you'd do anything for her…"**

"**Of course not."**

"**Good."**

**Ash gestured to Artemis and Apollo.**

"**She's willing to trade one of her souls for one of his."**

**Rain nodded as he understood.**

"**My life for hers."**

"**That's how it's supposed to go anyway. But think about it Rain. If you die, you will come back as a shade. I won't be able to stop it and you will walk through eternity loving Shiri and never being able to touch her."**

"**I don't give a damn."**

**Ash sighed.**

"**You always were stubborn as hell."**

**He waved the twin Olympians forward.**

"**Do as we discussed."**

**The two of them stepped forward, their hands clasped together. Each put their opposite hand on Rain's shoulders, forming a triangle.**

"**It might sting just a bit," Artemis said airily.**

"**Or a lot," Apollo added maliciously.**

**Rain shrugged. He didn't give as long as it would save Shiri. **

**He could feel when they started transferring his life into Shiri. His muscles tensed, but not of his own will. It was like they were trying to hold onto the power and energy he could feel draining out of his own body and flooding hers. When he turned to look at her, he saw the color start to come back into her face, the flush that highlighted her cheeks returning. **

**Artemis and Apollo stepped back.**

"**It'll keep working like this until you're dead," Artemis told him, sounding a bit too cheery.**

**Acheron stood by, impassive.**

"**Chérie?" Rain asked, moving to stand at the edge of the bed by Shiri. "Réveillez-vous petite étoile."**

**Shiri's eyes snapped open.**

"**Rain?" she said. "What's happening?"**

**She gasped at the same time Rain winced. The exchange was happening faster now. Rain's legs buckled and he let his body slide slowly to the floor. It only took Shiri a few seconds to process what was happening and her hand flew out to touch his shoulder.**

"**Angel," she said, voice agonized. "You didn't."**

"**I had to mon coeur," he forced out as his breathing slowed. "Si tu mourais…je ne peux pas vivre sans toi."**

"**Idiot," she whispered to him, kneeling next to him and pulling his head into her lap. "And you expect me to live without you?"**

"**You were fine before I came fleur."**

**She shook her head as tears started trailing down her cheeks. Rain flinched.**

"**Don't cry," he pleaded, touching her lips. **

"**Then don't die!"**

"**It's too late," Apollo interrupted. "Once the transfer starts, it can't be stopped. Rainier will die. And be gone. Poof. Nevermore."**

**Shiri looked like she wanted to put the god's head through a wall.**

"**Hold on," Acheron cut in easily. "He will die-"**

**Shiri cried out wordlessly.**

"**But-"**

**Acheron turned to Artemis.**

"**Give me his soul," he told her.**

"**What?"**

"**Give me his soul."**

"**No. That wasn't part of our deal."**

"**And neither was him dying and never coming back."**

"**You told me one soul for the other!"**

"**I told you one life for another. That doesn't mean he can't come back as a human."**

"**Ash?" Shiri asked tentatively. "Is that true?"**

"**It will be as soon as Artemis hands over Rain's soul. Which she will if she ever wants to see me again."**

**Artemis scowled as a wooded box appeared in her hand. She handed it to Acheron with a look that could've killed a lesser being. He was about to place it in Shiri's grasp when Rain threw out his hand to stop him.**

"**Don't give it to her Ash," he panted as he forced himself into a sitting position.**

"**What?" everyone demanded at the same time.**

"**Don't give it to her."**

"**Angel, I don't understand."**

**Rain smiled softly as he took her hands into his and flipped them over, her palms facing up.**

"**Do you know what it will do to you if you take it?" he asked, referring to the medallion that held his soul.**

"**It will scar my hands."**

"**It will leave you unable to make music."**

**Ash jerked as if he hadn't realized that before, but Shiri just laced their fingers together. Her skin was alabaster against the tawny of his, her hands delicate and dainty in his. She smiled.**

"**I don't mind," she answered.**

"**Musique est ta vie," Rain protested gently. "I can't take that away from you."**

**He winced as another wave of exhaustion went over him and he collapsed back against the bedpost.**

"**Ash?" Shiri asked.**

**He handed her the box, and she flipped open the lid without hesitation. **

"**Chérie," Rain breathed. "Don't."**

"**Shh," she soothed, kissing his forehead. "I know what I'm doing angel."**

**She picked up the heavy silver medallion from it's case and bit her lip to keep from making any noise as it burned into her hands. It rested on her left palm, the chain coiling around her fingers. Rain reached out with his rapidly fading powers and fought the urge to tear the amulet from her hands as he felt the pain in her mind.**

"**Mon amour-"**

**She cut off his protest with a kiss and pulled back to smile as Acheron slid Rain's shirt up to reveal the bow and arrow tattoo just above his hip. He guided her hands to hover above the mark, waiting until Rain was ready to have his soul returned to him. **

**Meanwhile, Rain could feel the last of his energy leaving him as it suffused Shiri. His body was drained, aching as his breathing slowed. And still, he forced his hand to raise so he could cradle Shiri's cheek in his palm as he took his last breath.**

"**Je t'aime," he whispered. "Plus que tout."**

**His last thought was Shiri as his world went black.**


	12. Immortal Love

"You are immortal," Ash explained.

Artemis and Apollo had left long ago, leaving the three of them sitting around the small table in Shiri's kitchen.

"What?" she asked. "How?"

"Nymphs are immortal. When Rain sacrificed his life for yours, he silenced the apollite half of you."

Shiri felt panic flood her.

"No," she said.

"What?"

"Rain just gave me my immortality and I just took away his!"

Rain tensed next to her as he understood what she was saying, but Acheron waved away their concerns with a flick of his wrist.

"One step ahead of you four-eyes. I worded my deal with Artemis a bit funny. All you have to know is that when you have Rain back his soul, you gave him back part of you. He will live as long as you do, much like the Weres."

"When we die, we die together," Rain translated.

"Exactly."

* * *

><p>"No moh?" Valerian asked, his lower lip trembling.<p>

"I'm sorry sweetie, but I can't play music anymore."

Shiri kissed his forehead and handed him back to Valerius.

"You don't regret what you did."

It wasn't a question. Valerius's voice was close off as always, giving away nothing. And though she did desperately miss the piano and music with an aching clarity, she answered him truthfully.

"No. I don't."

"The things we do for love," he said.

He started to walk away.

"But just know Shiri, that whatever you sacrifice, love will give you it all back. And more."

"He's like a freaking fortune cookie," Kyrian grumbled as he came up and pulled Shiri into a tight hug.

She sighed, wrapping her arms around his lean waist and squeezed lightly before she kissed his cheek and stepped back.

"He's a very wise fortune cookie."

"He's a very annoying fortune cookie."

"You're annoying and you're not a fortune cookie."

"He's doughy enough to be one," Talon smirked as he appeared behind her and tapped her chin.

"And no one listens to either of them," Julian added as he walked over and hugged her briefly.

Shiri smiled to herself as they launched into a cross-examination of what had happened the night she'd returned Rain's soul to him. They asked her questions until Amanda appeared in their midst.

"I'm here to save you from the testosterone cloud," she said, linking her arm through Shiri's.

"Hey," Kyrian protested.

"Hey nothing. Go play with your daughter."

Amanda pulled her away.

"How are you?" she asked in a motherly voice, brushing Shiri's hair back from her face.

"I'm fine," Shiri answered honestly. "I miss my music. I miss it every second of every day."

"But?"

"But I would give it up again gladly if it would save Rain."

Amanda seemed pleased.

"Well, I just wanted to tell you that what you lose, you will gain back through love."

"Valerius said that already."

"Because it's true. Trust your heart Shiri, and it will never fail you."

* * *

><p>"I don't mind angel. Really."<p>

Shiri touched Rain's lips to smooth away his frown.

"Tes mains-"

"Will heal."

"Ta musique-"

"Was a price I paid gladly."

He sighed and cupped her cheek.

"You have an answer for everything, don't you étoile?"

She smiled and turned her face kiss his palm.

"Maybe."

He laughed and then groaned as she took his hand and nipped the inside of his wrist. She'd learned long ago how sensitive both his wrists and hips were, and she took great pleasure in his uncontrolled reactions to her touch.

Rolling over in the bed, she sat up to straddle his bare hips.

"Hmm, I think it's my turn to be on top," he said, rolling them back over so his hips lay in the cradle of her thighs. "I think we should trade off every round. Or two. Or three."

He cut off her protest with a kiss. She moaned into his mouth and his lips curved, his hand finding her breast.

"Oh," she gasped, arching into his touch.

His grin widened as he broke away from her mouth to kiss the hollow of her throat before sliding down so his lips could replace his hands. She cradled his head to her and struggled to breathe as pleasure suffused her. His touch was divinity and it burned her as it traveled across her body.

His hands drifted down to the apex of her thighs.

"You're wet again," he murmured as he returned to her lips for a quick kiss.

"Your fault," she panted, writhing as his finger stroked her.

"It better be."

His voice was teasing as he brought her over the edge and kissed her senseless as her world shattered. She cried out in ecstasy as he slid himself into her while she climaxed. He hissed in pleasure as he buried himself to the hilt, his body trembling with the effort to restrain himself.

Shiri touched his cheek as she came back to her senses.

"Take me," she whispered.

He moaned and began rocking his hips against hers.

The fire in Shiri's stomach started again as he thrust slowly in and out of her. Her breathing turned ragged, her eyes drifting shut as she savored the feel of Rain's body caging hers protectively as he laid his cheek against hers and quickened his strokes. And when he kissed her gently, she flew apart.

She arched her back and moaned as waves of pleasure flowed through her. She felt her body clench around Rain's and heard him hiss as he joined her in climax. He pressed his face against her neck and shuddered as his body released itself deep into hers. He collapsed on top of her, but quickly rolled so she was lying on top of him.

"I believe you'll kill me one day chérie," he smiled, tucking her head under his chin.

"Oops."

Shiri sat up and made to get out of bed. Growling playfully, Rain snagged her waist and pulled her back to him, toppling her onto his chest. She laughed and laid both her palms on his pectorals, resting her chin daintily on top of her laced fingers.

"I was saving you from dying," she explained.

"I think I'll take my chances."

She could hear the smile in his voice, and she had the feeling that it was there for more than one reason.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I'm making love to the love of my life."

She nipped his jaw.

"Mm. Who knew the big, scary badboy could be so sweet?" she teased.

He laughed and slid an arm around her waist while he reached with his other hand for the nightstand…

"Rain?"

He kissed her gently.

"I would do to this in the traditional way," he started. "But I believe it'd be wasted on you fleur, so I chose to do this unconventionally."

Shiri gasped as he slid a ring onto the third finger of her left hand.

"Shiri Callista, je suis à toi—corps, coeur, esprit, et âme. Tu es plus importante pour moi que je peux dire, et je vous jure qu'il n'ya rien que pourrait changer mon amour pour toi. Tu es toute que je veux et que j'ai besion, et je vais passer l'éternité pour le prouver à toi, si tu me le permets. Seras-tu m'épouser?"

Shiri felt her tear up at his words.

Shiri Callista, I am yours—body, heart, mind, and soul. You are more important to me than I can say, and I swear to you that there is nothing that could possibly change my love for you. You are everything that I want and that I need, and I will spend eternity proving that to you, if you'll let me. Will you marry me?

"Yes," she whispered. "Of course I will."

He kissed her fiercely.

"Je t'aime," he murmured.

"I love you too."

He kissed her again.

"I have a gift for you," he said after a while.

"A gift?"

"Well it's not really from me but…"

She could feel him smiling again as he nuzzled her cheek.

"Close your eyes," he whispered.

She did, though she didn't know why it made a difference whether she kept them open or not.

"Rain?" she asked.

"Remember what Ash said about your nymph half overtaking the apollite half?"

"Yes."

"Have you noticed you haven't had many headaches recently?"

She nodded.

"I talked to Ash. He told me at sunset seven days after that happened…. You will lose the apollite half of yourself. You will no longer feel the call to other apollites and to daimons. It means…"

"I am no longer bound by my powers. It means I no longer have to pay a price for them. It means that I can-"

He smiled as he kissed her forehead.

"Yes, mon amour."

He brushed his lips against her ear.

"Petite étoile…open your eyes."


End file.
